Student Luke Rimmer left Suzhou on Tuesday with a bicycle, a ridiculous distance ahead of him and, by his own account, a promise to keep his mum updated. That last detail may be the most sensible part of the whole plan.
Luke Rimmer周一从苏州出发，骑着一辆自行车，前面是远得有点离谱的路程；据他自己说，他还答应会随时向妈妈报平安。说不定，这才是整个计划里最理智的一部分。
Rimmer is a University of Liverpool exchange student at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. He intends to cycle around 15,000 kilometres from Suzhou to Liverpool in about 150 days, passing through 15 countries and reaching Britain in time for his December graduation.
Rimmer是英国利物浦大学在西交利物浦大学的交换生。他计划用约150天，从苏州骑行约1.5万公里到利物浦，途经15个国家，并赶在12月毕业典礼前抵达英国。
The journey is expected to follow a broad Silk Road direction westwards. One early stop is Xi’an Jiaotong University in Shaanxi Province, the Chinese partner behind XJTLU. After that, the ride becomes less ceremonial and more practical; borders, weather, repairs, sleep and whatever dinner looks like that evening.
这趟骑行大体将沿古丝绸之路向西。早期一站是陕西省的西安交通大学，也就是西交利物浦大学的中方合作院校。再往后，行程就会少一些仪式感，多一些现实问题；边境、天气、修车、睡眠，以及当天晚上到底吃什么。
One Campus Ride Became a Much Longer Journey
一次校园骑行变成了更长的旅程
The idea began in May during XJTLU’s 20th anniversary activities. The university’s Human Resources Office organised a cycling event called “20 in Motion” around Yangcheng Lake, with more than 60 staff from different countries taking part. Rimmer helped lead the group.
这个想法始于5月西交利物浦大学20周年校庆期间。学校人力资源办公室组织了一场名为“20 in Motion”的阳澄湖骑行活动，60多名来自不同国家的教职员工参与其中。Rimmer当时参与带队。
Afterwards, he joked that he would wear the same cycling jersey all the way home. Jokes have a way of becoming dangerous when said out loud. In a public post shared on LinkedIn, Rimmer wrote that helping with navigation and motivation that day gave him “a real sense of fulfilment”.
活动结束后，他开玩笑说要穿着同一件骑行服一路回家。有些玩笑，一旦说出口，就会变得有点危险。在一篇被转发到LinkedIn的公开帖文中，Rimmer写道，那天帮助大家导航和鼓劲，让他感到“a real sense of fulfilment”。
XJTLU held a send-off ceremony on 8 July. Professor Youmin Xi, Executive President of the University, presented him with a bicycle on behalf of XJTLU. The kit list is reassuringly unglamorous; first-aid supplies, repair tools, spare tubes and a solar panel for remote stretches.
西交利物浦大学7月8日为他举行了欢送仪式。西浦执行校长席酉民教授代表学校向他赠送自行车。装备清单倒是朴素得让人放心；急救用品、修车工具、备用内胎，还有一块用于偏远路段供电的太阳能板。
There is a student’s stubbornness in the whole thing. Rimmer has said, simply, “I like to do hard things”. Fair enough. Some people prove a point in essays. Some do it by putting Shaanxi Province, Central Asia and half of Europe between themselves and graduation day.
整件事里有一种学生式的倔劲。Rimmer说得很简单，“I like to do hard things”。这也没什么可反驳的。有些人用论文证明自己，有些人则把陕西省、中亚和半个欧洲放在自己和毕业典礼之间。
Two Cities, One University and a Very Long Road
两座城市、一所大学和一条很长的路
XJTLU itself is the reason this ride makes sense as more than private madness. Founded in 2006 by Xi’an Jiaotong University and the University of Liverpool, it is China’s largest Sino-foreign cooperative university approved by the Ministry of Education, with students able to earn degrees recognised in both systems.
西交利物浦大学本身，正是这次骑行不只是个人疯狂之举的原因。学校由西安交通大学和英国利物浦大学于2006年合作创立，是经中国教育部批准的中国规模最大的中外合作大学，学生可获得中英两套体系认可的学位。
The Liverpool connection has also been unusually visible this year. In April, Liverpool City Council granted XJTLU the Freedom of the City, its highest civic honour, recognising the university’s role in building academic, cultural and research links between China and the UK.
今年，利物浦一端的联系也格外醒目。4月，利物浦市议会授予西交利物浦大学“城市自由荣誉”，这是当地最高市民荣誉，以表彰西浦在推动中英学术、文化和科研联系方面的作用。
Still, ceremonies only go so far. A cyclist leaving Suzhou for Liverpool gives the connection a different shape. It is slower, messier and easier to picture. One student, one bicycle, one university story stretched across a continent. That is more useful than another slogan.
不过，仪式能做到的终究有限。一个学生从苏州骑车去利物浦，让这段联系有了另一种形状。它更慢，更乱，也更容易被想象出来。一个学生，一辆自行车，一段被拉长到横跨大陆的大学故事。这比一句口号更有用。
If Rimmer reaches Liverpool in December, he will collect more than a degree. He will have made the Suzhou-Liverpool relationship feel oddly physical; not just something signed, announced or photographed, but something ridden through heat, rain, border posts and whatever passes for dinner along the way.
如果Rimmer在12月抵达利物浦，他领到的将不只是一张学位证。他会让“苏州—利物浦”这层关系变得有点具体；不只是签过、宣布过、拍过照的东西，而是被他一路骑过高温、雨水、边境口岸和各种临时晚饭的东西。
