Man’s best friend joins the gruppetto on a touring adventure

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They say a dog is a man’s best friend. One little pup from China has shown to be just that by following a group of cyclists across the country after being given some food by one rider.

The stray dog, which was named Xiao Sa by the cyclists, had accepted a chicken leg from one of the cyclists in Sichuan, China on May 4. As the cyclists departed Sichuan, Xiao Sa began to follow by running alongside the riders. She did the same the very next day, following the riders as they departed from their location.

With Xiao Sa now far from her original town, the cyclists adopted the little mutt into their group.

Long distance

In total, Xiao Sa ran along the cyclists for almost 1,139 miles, with the cyclists ending their cycle touring in Lhasa on the Tibetan plateau on May 23. When the pace got too much or Xiao needed a rest, cycling group leader Zhang Heng put the dog on the back of his bike

“Speeds did reach 70 kilometers per hour, so it was impossible for the dog to catch us,” Zhang Heng told the China Daily website.

Xiao becomes a star

As the ride too place, Zhang and his friends even set Xiao up with her own blogging website to record her adventures on the trip. This blog attracted more than 37,000 hits according to the Chinese press.

Zhang said Xiao Sa had become a companion and a mascot on the long journey to Lhasa and he would now like to adopt her and give her a permanent home.

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