In October 2020 we lived under the Covid-19 pandemic and Sara Qiu (https://saraqiu.com/, in Spanish) discovered the power of walking: Part of the GR-11 (a long path for walkers that crosses all along the Pyrenees) and many more. This way, an idea developed inside her mind: slow travel and enjoy the moment. She bought a second-hand bicycle at the end of Summer and pedaled from Zaragoza to Oviedo (both Spanish cities). Sara did not know much about bikes and equipment at that time.

This first trip was the starting point of something higher. In 2022, she set off again from Zaragoza to China. She did not have a closed plan, rather the only thought that she had was to arrive to China and go back, but slowly. Sara applied this philosophy through Europe and Asia. She crossed France, Italy, Slovenia, Serbia, Kosovo, Turkey or Iran to China in fifteen months. During this time, she learnt a precious lesson: Every day is different. Never did she knew where to sleep, who she met or what could happen in advance. She learn to adapt, to trust, to release control.

This exemplary woman experienced a change in the way she was perceived. For instance, when she appeared covered with dust and sweat, she felt her effort was recognized and a sense of empathy was developed. In such cases, first came curiosity by local inhabitants, then respect.

Silence was her personal decision. She did not wanted music or podcasts while pedaling. Indeed, silence was very much appreciated when pedaling between mountains, secondary roads and deserts and learnt to be alone with herself.

Sara decided that such a trip was not going to be a survival one, in fact she flight back to Spain in Winter and continued riding her bike after some months. She did not have to demonstrate anything to anybody, just enjoy her trip.

Moreover, she defends that planning kills surprise. At the beginning, she recorded videos, wrote chronicles and shared reflections on social nets with the hope of living from it. However, she soon realized that the most important is not money, but sharing what she was seeing. She also defends that the world is not as dangerous as news display, there is a lot of goodness when traveling slow. She came to China in Winter 2024.