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On global tour of joy and pain, he bikes on

In 2001, Yiming Liu left China on the ride of his life, through Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Riverview ...

By ANDREW MEACHAM
Published September 22, 2006

BRANDON - He's been hungry enough to eat a poisonous fruit, thirsty enough to drink cow's urine. He' was hit by a bus in Ecuador, spooked by wolves in Egypt and jailed in Lebanon.

In 2001, Yiming Liu, 45, left his home in Zhanjiang City in South China with two colleagues to bicycle around the globe. Last week, his quest took him through Riverview.

It was a grand ambition. The trio would ride through five continents, finishing in time for opening ceremonies at the 2008 Olympics. They would ride into National Stadium in Beijing as conquering heroes and the face of a new China.

Liu left behind a wife and son to achieve the dream.

But Liu's last partner dropped out three years ago, and the former physical education teacher has been pedaling the world alone ever since. He gets by on a small stipend from his former job and the goodwill of strangers.

A worldwide Chinese community serves as his travel agent. In Miami, Liu made a few phone calls to Hillsborough County residents to announce that he would be passing through and to ask for a helping hand.

But as he rode into Tampa, accommodations weren't nailed down. On Kennedy Boulevard, Liu spotted the Jade Garden Restaurant and figured he would find someone who spoke Chinese. Within minutes, Riverview artist Ping Chen's cell phone was ringing. A contact from the Chinese Association of Tampa Bay had given Liu the number.

Chen said Liu's story impressed her. She arranged for Liu to stay at her father's Riverview home.

The single-speed bicycle loaded in the trunk of her car is Liu's 19th. A manufacturer from Shunde City outside Hong Kong supplies new bikes whenever one breaks down or, as happened once in Colombia, is stolen.

A thick 145 pounds, he has dropped 30 pounds since embarking on the journey.

He's on his third passport - entry stamps from Turkey, Greece, several Middle Eastern countries and other places fill up the first two.

"I just want to show humans that you can do anything if you have enough courage and patience," Liu said last week while visiting the home of Ping Chan, who translated.

A leather-bound book of clippings documents his journey from its 2001 inception that began along the coastlines of China, Vietnam and Cambodia.

A second scrapbook is filled with photos of Liu standing with foreign politicians, the proclamations they wrote for him and the business cards of Chinese people living abroad.

In 2002, one of Liu's partners drank some bad water in Thailand and got too ill to continue. Liu and his remaining partner flew to east Africa, then pedaled north along the Indian Ocean coast to Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Even with a partner, Liu found it hard to carry enough food and water to cross long stretches of desert. Yet he and fellow cyclist YoungJia Liu breezed along the Iraq coast in 2003 with relative ease, at times close enough to hear artillery fire.

The pair continued on to Rio de Janeiro. They stayed close to the coast until they reached Argentina, then cut across Uruguay to the Pacific Ocean. The bicyclists detoured to London in 2003, where Yiming Liu hit an emotional low. YoungJia Liu announced he would have to quit due to a persistent liver ailment.

For a while, Liu also thought about quitting. Instead, he returned to South America, where he was hit by a bus in Ecuador. Liu was hospitalized for several days but escaped serious injury.

When Cuba officials blocked his entry to the United States. earlier this year, Liu temporarily returned to China. His wife, Chun Qin Zhu, met him at the airport. They hadn't seen each other for five years. "It's hard to use any words to describe that kind of feeling," Liu said. "The only words are the tears."

Asked why he is sacrificing years away from his wife and 14-year-old son, Liu likened himself to a soldier. "You have to be willing to die for this," he said.

He flew to New York in June and methodically pedaled to Florida. When he makes it to California, he will disassemble his bicycle and fly to Australia.

Liu said the Chinese government is watching his progress.

On Sept. 15, more than 20 Chinese-Americans gathered on the Friendship Trail at the Gandy Bridge to cheer him on. To the irregular beat of a red ceremonial drum, the group walked onto the bridge with Liu.

"Thirty years ago the government told us what to do," said Shouliang Lai, principal of the Tampa Bay Chinese School. "He is telling himself to do this."

By Monday, Liu was making his way toward U.S. 19, hoping to reach California by Jan. 1.

Andrew Meacham can be reached at 661-2431 or ameacham@sptimes.com Versions of this story appeared in other editions of the Times.

[Last modified September 22, 2006, 01:24:51]