David and China

BACK in 2006， David Barrionuevo García was a national-level judo coach in Spain， also teaching golf in his hometown， Carabanchel in Madrid. In 2008， this PE degree holder won a chance to work with the Beijing Olympics Organizing Committee.

At the beginning of 2008， when David knew that judo would be his ticket to the Olympics， he decided to share his dream with his “partner” – the bicycle he calls Milana， which would eventually change his whole life.

From Carabanchel to Beijing

In the summer of 2006， David read a news item about a man who had biked to China. Though David told his mother about it， she did not pick up on the hint that he himself was planning a trip to this Asian country， after riding his Milana from Valencia to Madrid.

One year later， he biked through Scotland， 1，200 km in 25 days regardless of rain or shine. Besides language， he was also confronted with a tight budget of eight Euros a day. Thinking of his upcoming five-month trip from Madrid to Beijing， he became worried about how he would conquer loneliness along the way.

He had much experience biking through different countries， such as the Netherlands， France， Morocco， and Spain， etc. “I was planning a long trip， so I thought I could finish the trip within six months， from Madrid to Beijing， with my limited money.”

“My mum first thought I must be crazy， as did my dad. But afterwards， they became very supportive. On March 1， 2008， I went to my younger sister’s home. We hugged and cried. Then I got on my bicycle， and left Madrid， heading for China.”

“On July 19， just two weeks before the opening of the Beijing Olympics， I arrived at Tian’anmen. I had crossed nine countries： Spain， France， Italy， Greece， Turkey， Georgia， Azerbaijan， Kazakhstan， and China – covering 12，514 km， taking four months and 19 days.”

Other Perspectives， Other Ways

While preparing for such a long journey to China， David inaugurated a blog， Carabanchel to Beijing 08， which after he finished his trip， was shut down. Now David has a new blog， beijingcarabanchel-sinrutanifecha.blogspot.com， covering all the things he did in China.

When he arrived in China， David could speak neither English nor Chinese. “I felt relaxed when I arrived in China， as when I was in Greece I could not speak Greek， in Turkey could not speak Turkish， and went through Georgia and Azerbaijan without either Russian or Azeri.”

Before he started out for Beijing， David asked for six months’ leave from the golf club where he worked as a professional golf teacher. “I had a rather relaxing life before the trip， but these six months away from work， I began to make changes to my life. After the Olympics ended， I was in Japan when I got a callback letter from that golf club. But I sent them back an email telling them I planned to settle down in China. I had decided to stay and look for my life here.”

David has now been in Beijing for five years. He has acquired a new perspective for looking at people in this most populous country. “They are no different than us， but they have their own way of dealing with things and life. When you get to know how to make contact with them， you also see things differently.”

“They’re not accustomed to body contact， so I’ve given up my Spanish cheek-to-cheek ways of saying hello. They have their own ways of greeting and building relationships.”

“Over these past five years， I’ve spent four with my Chinese girlfriend. She is from Beijing， and I call her Pei Pei. She had studied in Washington for six years， and in London and Murcia for a year， but she is all Chinese inside.”

David had a great time with Pei Pei. He is eight years older， and they faced common worldwide issues as well as cultural differences， “but we are learning new things every day，” said David.

David is fascinated by Chinese cuisine. “Now going back to Spain is my big problem， as there are only four ways to cook. But here in China， a different restaurant can have many different ways of cooking different dishes.”

Enjoying the Journeys

As in the movie Los Santos Inocentes， where Azarías and his birds share distinctive emotions， so do David and his bicycle. He proudly calls his bicycle “Milana.” He wants to show his love and respect for animals as in the movie， as well as for his partner Milana.

“My bicycle enjoys traveling.” David feels very proud of his partner enjoying the journeys with him. She is a German Black Hills Focus bike， a gift from his friend I？aki from Planet Bikes， one of the sponsors of David’s trip from Madrid to Beijing.

Milana， his loyal partner， has been repaired and perfected， and is now equipped with an emergency kit including two spare tires， different-sized patches， spare chains， medicines， and personal items.

On the trip， David would eat whatever he came across， no matter if it was dead or alive. But if he could not find anything， Milana carried nuts， chocolate， coffee， tea， sugar， oil， etc.

Golf in China

“Golf is not the same in Europe as in China.” David had been in this field in Spain for 10 years， and has now been teaching golf in China for five years. He has developed his own understanding.

When he arrived in China， David went to a golf school to look for a job. “I told them， I could attract students here on my own. Then I went to the embassies in China， such as from Mexico， Argentina， Venezuela， Chile， Spain， and Italy. I had a group of students learning from me. Now five years have passed， I still teach some French， Australian and other people from different countries.”

“Like in Europe， golf in China is also regarded as a symbol of social status， and used in commercial advertising. Even in banks， there’s a picture of a man playing golf on their credit card ads. On TV， car ads show some celebrity putting golf clubs into his trunk.”

Since China’s opening-up， golf has gradually spread. In 1984 there were only two golf courses， but now there are more than 600 in China.

“There are 10 million amateur golfers， among which five million don’t play at golf courses， the prices being too high. Take Beijing for example， playing golf can cost RMB 600 to 700， about US $100 or more each time.”

“There are so many golf courses in Spain， some with maybe over 100 years of history. But the quality and high standards cannot be compared with China.”

David set up his own company， DBGOLF. “We love all things related to golf. We organize Chinese golfers to play in Europe or vice-versa. We also help companies wanting to gain a market share in the Asian golf field， to promote and organize competitions in China.”

“China is working hard to foster its own golfers，” David said. “In 2009， golf was listed as an Olympic sport. And since that time， China has added golf to some school courses. No wonder there are so many golfers now.”

David concluded， “Golf suits China. When I first entered university， I chose cycling， swimming， golf， and judo. Now I share many things with China， and can be a part of China too.”