By Li Lanxin

“I once spent four months riding from London to the north of Norway and then turned south toward the‘heel’ in the boot of Italy.” Alan’s eyes sparkled with pride as he recalled his adventure from years ago, as if that twelve-thousandkilometer-long journey was unfolding right in front of him.

In 2002, Alan Laine left Britain and came to Wuhan as a teacher,where he stayed at Wuhan Britain-China International School for the next sixteen years.As a good mentor, he has unveiled the mysterious world of physics to a great number of students and won the admiration of his students with his rich knowledge.Wuhan Municipal People’s Government presented the Yellow Crane Friendship Award to him in 2012, commending him for his outstanding contribution to education. No one would have expected that Alan, a tall, thin,and academically-minded man had such a physically challenging hobby and such astonishing experiences.

It was two years after obtaining his PhD in Physics at University of Liverpool, that Alan bought his veryfirst bicycle. At that time,he was enthusiastically fond of a variety of sports, and he had always been energetic. In order to challenge himself, he started cycling. Though the long cycling journeys were often accompanied by bad weather, rugged roads,and exhaustion, Alan never quit midway. He said, “It’s a pleasant thing to get away from the crowded, noisy cities sometimes and to ride freely on the peaceful country roads surrounded by beautiful sceneries.”

For a cyclist like him, the dream of adventures would never perish,and the journey of cycling would never come to an end. When in China, he continued to pursue his passion for cycling. After settling in Wuhan, he took more interest in cycling the areas and cities nearby. In the summer of 2014,he indulged himself in a 15-day journey around Hubei Province.Starting in Wuhan, he rode 1350 kilometers in total before reaching his destination Xiantao.Along the way, he stopped at a number of places like Xiaogan,Suizhou, Xiangyang, Shiyan,Liuliping Town, Fang County,Shen Nongjia, Muyu Town,Yichang, and Jingzhou, where he rested for one day everyfive days.

Each land nurtures its own culture and fantastic landscape in Alan’s eyes. In Anlu County of Xiaogan, he witnessed that locals put up rows of bamboo shelves and hang up noodles as thin as hair, which glittered in the sun.In Xiangyang, he read the story of Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage in Gulongzhong and spent some time envisioning Zhuge Liang’s legendary life.Arriving at Muyu Town after zigzagging mountain roads in Shennongjia, he looked back and was astounded to find his trail was partly hidden and partly visible among the curving slope of the mountains. Stopping at Jingzhou, he put his hands on the age-old city walls that had been destroyed and rebuilt again and again in more turbulent times and imagined the raging wars hundreds or thousands of years ago. It seemed to him that he was not only cycling through different places, but also through time and Chinese culture.

“Sometimes it was scorching hot, and sometimes it rained cats and dogs. Usually things just don’t go smoothly all the way,”Alan said. However, for him, the significance of cycling comes from more than the cycling itself.It’s what he hears, sees, feels,and experiences that makes the journey worthwhile.

It’s safe to cycle around in China. Sometimes Alan travels alone, and sometimes he travels with a friend or two; sometimes he goes on an expedition, and sometimes he takes a short trip around. In 2012, He rode 1100 kilometers on the route from Kashi, Xinjiang to Xining,Qinghai, and last year, he rode 800 kilometers from Wuhan to Zhang jiajie and the Ancient City of Phoenix in Hunan Province.

“I haven’t decided where my next stop is or where I will head for next time,” Alan said briskly with a smile on his face.“There are so many places in the vast land of China that are waiting out there for me to explore.The road ahead is endless. And that applies to both the path of education as well as the journey of cycling.”

“我曾用四個(gè)月時(shí)間，從倫敦騎自行車(chē)到挪威北部，再轉(zhuǎn)頭南下至意大利最南端?！碧崞鹉贻p時(shí)的經(jīng)歷，艾倫眼里閃爍著自豪，那一萬(wàn)二千公里的路程似乎就在眼前。

2002年，艾倫·雷從英國(guó)來(lái)到武漢教書(shū)，在武外英中學(xué)校一駐就是十六年。他像一個(gè)引路人，給數(shù)不清的學(xué)生撥開(kāi)了物理世界的迷霧。在學(xué)生眼里，他博學(xué)多識(shí)，因杰出的教育貢獻(xiàn)而榮獲武漢市“黃鶴友誼獎(jiǎng)”。誰(shuí)能想到，瘦瘦高高、熱愛(ài)學(xué)術(shù)的他，還有著這樣與眾不同的愛(ài)好和令人驚嘆的經(jīng)歷。

那是在獲得利物浦大學(xué)物理博士學(xué)位兩年后，艾倫買(mǎi)下了他平生第一輛自行車(chē)。那時(shí)的他酷愛(ài)各類(lèi)運(yùn)動(dòng)，渾身充滿(mǎn)活力，為了挑戰(zhàn)自我，他開(kāi)始了騎行運(yùn)動(dòng)。漫漫騎行途中，總是伴隨著各種困難，天氣、路況、體力都挑戰(zhàn)著他，他堅(jiān)持一直向前，再向前。他說(shuō)：“離開(kāi)喧鬧的大城市，自由地騎行在美麗的大自然和小村落里，是一件令人享受的事情?！?/p>

對(duì)于騎行者來(lái)說(shuō)，夢(mèng)想和路是沒(méi)有盡頭的。艾倫對(duì)騎行的熱愛(ài)到中國(guó)后并未改變。定居武漢后，他把目光投向武漢周邊境域。 2014年夏天，他開(kāi)始了一段15天的湖北騎行之旅。從武漢到孝感，再到隨州、襄陽(yáng)和十堰六里坪，穿房縣和神農(nóng)架木魚(yú)鎮(zhèn)，過(guò)宜昌、荊州,最后抵達(dá)仙桃，全程1350公里，騎五天歇一天。

在艾倫眼里，每一片土地都有不一樣的風(fēng)情：途徑孝感安陸時(shí)，人們?cè)谝慌排诺闹窦苌蠒窦?xì)如發(fā)絲的面條，面條在陽(yáng)光照射下閃閃發(fā)亮；行至襄陽(yáng)，在古隆中重溫三顧茅廬的故事，想象諸葛亮的傳奇人生；穿過(guò)神農(nóng)架綿綿不絕的山路，在木魚(yú)鎮(zhèn)回望來(lái)路，隱現(xiàn)于層巒疊嶂之中；騎至荊州，能撫摸幾經(jīng)摧毀又幾經(jīng)重建的古城，感受千百年來(lái)的兵家之爭(zhēng)……在騎行時(shí)，穿過(guò)的不僅僅是道路，還有時(shí)間和中華文化。

“有時(shí)太陽(yáng)很毒，有時(shí)又陰雨綿綿，騎行不會(huì)總是一帆風(fēng)順?！卑瑐愓f(shuō)。對(duì)于他而言，如今騎行的魅力早已超乎騎行之外，旅途中所見(jiàn)所聞、親身感受的民俗文化，似乎更有意義和價(jià)值。

在中國(guó)騎行很安全，艾倫有時(shí)獨(dú)自上路，有時(shí)和其他人結(jié)伴而行，有遠(yuǎn)征，也有短途。2012年，他曾從新疆喀什斷斷續(xù)續(xù)騎行1100公里到青海西寧。而去年，他又從武漢騎行800公里前往湖南張家界、鳳凰古城。

“將來(lái)我會(huì)前往哪里、騎向哪一站，我也不知道。”艾倫笑了笑，有些調(diào)皮地說(shuō)道，“中國(guó)這片土地上還有太多值得探索的地方。路無(wú)止盡，教育之路是這樣，騎行之路亦是如此吧?！?/p>