Charity bike ride in Hangzhou looks to blossom

The 2018 Trek 100 Qiantang River (Hangzhou) Charity Bike Tour ended last Saturday in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The 2018 Trek 100 Qiantang River (Hangzhou) Charity Bike Tour ended last Saturday in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. More than 1,000 cycling enthusiasts competed in two groups - the 92 km and 63 km cycle challenge.

The Trek 100 Charity Bike Tour was founded in 1990, and has been successfully held for the past 28 years. The annual charity bike ride was jointly established by Trek Cycling and the Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer Foundation and attracts now around 1,000 participants every year.

The Trek 100 has a riding distance of around 100 kilometers, and aims to promote a healthy and active lifestyle and contribute to the public well-being through the power of cycling.

The 2018 Trek 100 Qiantang River (Hangzhou) Charity Bike Tour kicked off at a sports center in Hangzhou's Jianggan district. Riders who participated in the charity ride started from Qianjiang New City, before heading toward Xiasha via the Qiantang River, and then returned along the riverside back to Jianggan district.

In the season when the peach trees blossom, the riders enjoyed picturesque scenery on both banks of the river as they happily sweated their way through the race.

The United States ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, also took part in the event. At the site, he shared his riding experiences: "Cycling is a wonderful sport that can solve many complex problems, such as health, traffic congestion, etc., I hope more people will participate in the future. Riding in the spring is a very good experience, I hope you will all enjoy the ride."

The bike tour is the opening challenge of the 2018 Trek 100 series, where the US cycle brand Trek has teamed up with FAW-Volkswagen's C-Trek model to bring a variety of cycling experiences to bike enthusiasts around China. The event attracted cyclists from Hangzhou, Shanghai, Wuxi, Ningbo and Jiaxing, as well as riders from abroad.

This year, Trek 100 will donate the enrollment fees from the charity ride to support the China University Student Sports Association's cycling branch to help promote and popularize the cycling movement among colleges and universities across the country.

zhanglei@chinadaily.com.cn