( CNN ) If there 's one thing that hurts more than the saddle sores from cycling around China for 460 days , it 's having the bike you did it on stolen just days before completing your epic trip . That 's what happened to cyclist Wang Pingan as he neared the end of a two-wheel trek that covered thousands of miles through every major province in the vast country , according to local media . Arriving in the southern city of Shenzhen , in southern Guandong province , Wang locked up his trusty mountain bike , loaded with panniers , to check out electronics markets in the city 's Huaqiangbei area . Within 10 minutes the thieves struck . But here 's where the story takes an unexpected turn . Despite police initially saying odds were stacked against the bike ever being recovered , Shenzhen 's finest managed to track it down and return it . The Southern Metro News reported that police apprehended an alleged criminal and sent Wang a photo of a bike they recovered . He recognized it instantly . They said the theft , from a road junction `` infested '' by cycle thieves was caught on surveillance cameras . The bike had likely been sold twice before being recovered . `` We do n't want this lad visiting Shenzhen and having a bad memory of the city , '' a police spokesman told the paper . Now , with 29,200 kilometers under his tires , Wang can continue the final few days of his epic journey . He 'll be able to add his final destination , Hainan Island , to a route that has already taken in some of the country 's most far-flung places . Among them are Mohe in Heilongjiang , China 's northernmost and coldest place , Urumqi in the west and Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in the southwest.. Wang , a recent university graduate , who embarked on his trip with a budget of little more than $ 100 , had earlier turned down offers from across China to help him get a new bike , vowing to walk if he could n't be reunited with his `` old lover . '' `` It has a special meaning to me , '' he said , according to SMN . Before the bike 's recovery , Wang had posted a heart-rending tribute to his bike on social media , recalling their adventures together . `` The bicycle itself does n't have a high value , but spending more than a year with it , it 's like a best friend who has accompanied me on my way , and taken me to every place without complaints , '' he writes . `` Thank you , my buddy , maybe I 'll never see you again ... I remember I cried during the difficult times at the beginning of the trip and you were by my side . '' CNN 's Shen Lu , Maggie Hiufu Wong and Barry Neild contributed to this story .
Cyclist SMN Pingan had his cycle stolen just days before completing an epic ride around China . Locked bike was stolen outside an electronics market in Shenzhen , Guandong Province . SMN had vowed to complete his journey by foot , but police managed to recover it against the odds .