Athletes aren't the only ones who are accomplishing amazing things at the 2012 Summer Olympics. To spread the Olympics spirit, an Olympics super fan cycled his rickshaw all the way from China to London for the Games in a feat that took him two years.
Chen Guanming, 57, is a farmer from China who started his journey to the Olympics in April 2010 to support the Olympic athletes and to spread the Olympics spirit to all he encountered along the way.
"I came to support and cheer all the people from all over the world who are participating in the sports," Chen said as quoted by the NY Daily News, "I'm volunteering, I'm not looking for a reward."
For over two years, Guanming rode his three-wheeled rickshaw across 16 countries and it was no simple task. He faced several obstacles including floods, mountains, severe temperatures and even war zones to arrive in London on July 6.
He faced such high heat in the first few countries that he passed, that he would have to wring out the sweat from his clothes. When he reached Thailand, flooding made his trip even more difficult.
Guanming's passport is full of stamps and visas, but he was unable to obtain a visa to Burma, so he had to change his plans and travel through Tibet where he had to climb mountains over 20,000 feet high on his rickshaw.
However that wasn't the worst of it. Guanming traveled through Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran to Turkey, where he was snowed in for four days in under 22 degree Fahrenheit temperatures. Being trapped in the cold and facing Thailand's floods were the worst part, Guanmino claims, according to the NY Daily News.
He finally reached Britain after taking a ferry from France on July 6.
Guanming was able to support himself with donations from friends and strangers as well as by delivering goods.
His rickshaw is covered with photos of his adventures along the way. He has pictures of himself standing in front of landmarks like the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
This isn't the first time Guanming has made an Olympic rickshaw journey. When China won its Olympics bid in 2001, he rode from his village in the Jiangsu province through 1,764 cities to Beijing. He spent his time cleaning litter near the Olympic Park. He was able to get a seat to the closing ceremony of the Olympics.
Guanming is hoping to get a last-minute ticket to the opening ceremony on July 27, but for now he's happy to just be close to the Games.
"Londoners are very welcoming," Chen told AFP, "This city is welcoming the whole world in a very nice way."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
