As Tour of Qinghai Lake International Road Cycling Race kicked off, a number of Chinese amateur riders also got on their bikes.

On Thursday, four days after the race commenced, Tian Yuanfu and Liu Guilan, a couple near their 50 from Xinyu, Jiangxi Province arrived Xihai Township of northwest China's Qinghai Province, the starting point of most amateur cyclists' choice, to start a 4-day cycling trip around the lake.

Not like other younger riders, the couple seemed more relaxed and enjoyed. "We quite enjoy smelling the flowers, looking at the vast Lake, nothing can ever be more leisurable than this," said Tian, adding that they were going to set up a tent to taste a little bit of Chinese spirit when they get tired.

Tian told Xinhua that in his hometown, 150 kilometers from the province's capital, cycling has become a fashionable and cool sport in recent years. "I believe many of them were inspired by the races that were held all over the country in the past 10 years," he said.

Since four years ago, the couple couldn't restrain their passion for cycling. After measuring every inch of land in their hometown on their two wheels, last year they cycled all the way from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, to Lhasa, the holy city on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, within 22 days.

"After that extreme challenge, cycling around the Qinghai Lake is like strolling," said Tian's wife, 47-year-old Liu Guilan.

Since the first Tour de Qinghai Lake held in 2002, about 300,000 riders from home and abroad have come to the lake. Travelling with their bicycles, they've got new perspectives to taste the plateau, said Feng Jianping, the race's chief designer and head of Qinghai Sports Bureau.

According to Feng, as Tour de Qinghai Lake developed, a series of cycling races such as Tour de Hainan Island, Tour de Taihu Lake are booming all over the country. Bicycles, the country's former main transportation, now have become popular sport equipment.

"Without the race I will never know Qinghai Lake is such a paradise for riders!" said Chen Wu, a rider from Wuhan, Hubei Province. In their cycling circle, Qinghai Lake, Hainan, Sichuan-Tibet Highway have become classic routes for enthusiastic riders.

To watch the cyclists competing in the race's fourth stage, Chen and his companion Zhou Mingyang took off early from Qinghai Lake's 151 Base on Thursday and stopped at a golden flower field to wait for the riders.

"Their perspiration is an incentive for me, I feel proud every time when I conquer the high peaks like them. This trip is a pilgrimage to me," said Chen.

Editor: Lucia Su