Nicholas Quirke was fasting on 6 April 2021. The gains in weight loss were perilously close to being eroded by the excess of Tong Sui and food consumed over the previous 6 days and as he was lunching at Peng’s parents at the approaching weekend and not wanting to insult them by being finicky about his food then serious action was required. A 48 hour fast followed by raw food and intermittent fasting for the rest of the week should help him to recover the ground he had lost to his greed. It was back to work too and as the temperatures were now rising he was keen to get out on the bike and enjoy the sights of the city. As a youth he had loved cycling the streets of London but the undulating nature of the landscape meant it was always something of a chore managing the dips and troughs, the twists and turns of some journeys across the city. The flat plateau that Beijing was built upon was easy to navigate and the grid system of streets made it remarkably easy to stay on track and made peddling away, even for and hour a simple task. The school was a 30 minute cycle ride and with having no lunch to mark the passing hours he did not leave till 3pm. He was irritated that he had not yet received his fixed GoPro and was still having to use his old hero 5 model which did not provide the same quality. He cycled watching the streets slip by, enjoying the sight of relics, Hutongs and traditional buildings set against the modern architecture of the metropolis. He loved the ride and felt so good when he arrived at the school he decided to make sure he cycled home. The lesson was with 5 students learning to read English. For the first hour the kids were engaged and focused by the 2nd hour they had lost their interest, were clearly tired from the rigours of their school day and made it a difficult class to manage. As he left the building he saw two of his students clambering on the building without any concern for their safety and which summed up their behaviour perfectly. He cycled home and by the time he arrived he felt tired by the exertion and a little weak from hunger. He managed to make it through the evening by watching ‘The Kid Detective’ which despite the juvenile sounding title proved to be an unusual, dark humoured piece that had charm and surprises. The need for food weighed heavily and the best place for him was bed and sleep.