From His Computer Desk to Cycling to China: A Man With Zero Experience Takes On 8,000 Kilometers

A 28-year-old man from the Dutch town of Hengelo is in the middle of an extraordinary journey. Benjamin Bolks had zero cycling experience when he decided to bike from his home all the way to China. He saw a video of an Italian cyclist making the trip from Amsterdam to China, and that was all the inspiration he needed.

"I literally stepped off the computer and onto the bike," he says. His family thought he was crazy, but Benjamin figured he was Dutch, and Dutch people bike - so it had to work out.

He left Twente two months ago. He averages 70 kilometers per day, though some days he gives up after 30 or 40. So far he has covered over 5,000 kilometers. He carries a tent and stays in hostels near larger cities, camping in the wild when it gets dark.

The trip has been brutal. He ran out of water in a Kazakh desert, his brake disc froze solid, and he battled relentless weather. In Turkey, both wheels got stuck in thick mud and he had to carry his bike through it. He nearly gave up, but an elderly Turkish man in a nearby village offered him tea, food, and helped clean his bike. That restored his spirits.

His bike has also taken a beating. He replaced parts in Tbilisi and has had two flat rear tires. He expects to reach his final destination - the city of Ürümqi in northern China - in about two more months, then fly home. "The days when everything goes well make this adventure more than worth it," he says.