Photo by David Barrionuevo / for China Daily

Barrionuevo says when he rode across the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, he was invited by a local on the street to live with his family. During his three-day stay, Barrionuevo helped the family clean, cut firewood and make a fire for cooking. When he was about to say goodbye, the grandmother of the family cried and asked him to stay longer.

"People in the region are very simple, kind-hearted and hospitable, even though they have no idea where I'm from," Barrionuevo adds.

The cyclist started exploring the world by bike at 19. He has cycled through Scotland, France, the Netherlands and many other European countries. In 2005, he and a friend from Argentina walked from Chengdu to Kunming in Yunnan province, his first trip to China. The 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing inspired Barrionuevo to ride from Madrid to Beijing, a four-month journey.

Barrionuevo had worked as a golf coach in Madrid for more than a decade, but he was bored with his job and the changing face of China and Asia excited him. After the 2008 Olympics, Barrionuevo made a decision to stay in China and learn Chinese, the beginning of a new chapter in his life.

"He has a free soul. He has sacrificed a lot to continue his cycling," says Han Peipei, Barrionuevo's Chinese girlfriend. They met at a language center in Beijing five years ago.

Like most parents, Barrionuevo's father, who runs a small factory in Madrid, wants his son to get married and have a family. However, Barrionuevo's mother supports her son's free-spirited lifestyle.