The benefits of solo travel: what Spanish-born Chinese woman who cycled for 9 months across Europe learned about herself and the kindness of others

Travelling alone would be daunting for many. But it can have a positive impact on a person’s growth – just ask one woman who cycled 7,500km across 10 countries

Sara Qiu Ruan biked across Europe last year and learned a lot about herself, and the generosity of strangers. Now she’s Asia bound – and cycling for a cause

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Sara Qiu Ruan, pictured in Croatia, says travelling solo has taught her a lot about human kindness. She spent nine months on a life-changing biking adventure around Europe. Photo: Sara Qiu Ruan

Published: 7:15am, 5 Apr 2023

Five years working in tech had Sara Qiu Ruan questioning her life choices. It was the coronavirus pandemic that finally convinced her to quit her nine-to-five job and hit the road.

“The pandemic has changed the way many people think about how they want to live,” says Qiu via Zoom from her home in the Aragon region of northeast Spain. “For me, I started this huge journey.”

In April 2022, Qiu embarked on a nine-month, 7,500-kilometre (4,660-mile) cycling adventure across 10 countries.

“Taking that first step was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” says the 31-year-old.

Qiu embarked on a 7,500km cycling journey across 10 countries, and was welcomed by families including this one in Kosovo. Photo: Sara Qiu Ruan

Her go-with-the-flow journey included stops in France, Italy, Croatia, Greece and Turkey. She stayed with kind families or camped in the wild, her stories shared on social platforms under “Journey From The Road”.

“I’ve learned so many lessons about human kindness and about myself,” Qiu says. “I faced a lot of uncertainty – where am I going to eat today? Where am I going to stay tonight – but that uncertainty teaches you a lot. It’s OK, you know, because the bad days are temporary and so are the good ones.”

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