Chinese Bicyclist Gets Stoned

Some people just know how to have fun. Take for instance Zhang Xunmu, a 52-year-old man from Wuhan, China. He loves to hop on his bike and go for a daily ride around the town’s Jiangxia Stadium. The retired engineer wakes up at 4am to ensure that his fitness requirements are met every day. And to make sure that he has plenty of time to stretch out his neck, for you see, Zhang doesn’t take just any old bike ride. He jaunts around the town and stadium with a millstone, weighing 74 pounds, balanced on his head.

 I think we’ve all had days when you wake up and don’t quite know what you want to do. Thirteen years ago, Xunmu had one of those days. He got up before work and felt unfulfilled with his job that had him stuck in an office all day. He really liked to be outside, in particular while biking. And on that early morning he found the millstone tossed on the side of the road. Not quite sure it was possible, he attempted to balance the stone on his head. After finding this wasn’t as difficult as he thought, he road the two miles back to his house, millstone atop his head.

Thus began a ritual that has now attracted hundreds of stunned gawkers who watch Zhang ride his bike over six miles per day. And with every rotation of the pedals, there’s at least 74 pounds of stone perched atop his head. ‘At least’ being the operative words. Having realized after a year that balancing the millstone wasn’t nearly challenging enough, Xunmu decided to start adding addition stone weights to the top of it. These additional stone blocks started out small, but are now upwards of 55 pounds. That’s nearly 130 additional pounds balanced on the head of a man who bikes for miles a day. Zhang plans to continue adding weight until he can’t ride anymore. So far, he has never had either the millstone, or the additional stone blocks, slide from his head. There has been a casualty, however. Due to all the prolonged weight in one spot, Zhang has developed a bald patch on the left side of his head.

Xunmu isn’t alone in China as being a fitness fanatic who loves to get stoned. There’s also 55-year-old Huang Baoquan from Chengdu, China who wears 117 pound stones shoes as part of his morning exercise routine. They always say work with what you got, and apparently, there is more than enough stone to go around.

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