At 5:12 AM on May 1st, while the world around me still slept, I clipped in and rolled silently into the Cambridgeshire dawn. No traffic, no noise—just breath, pedals, and the whisper of rubber on tarmac. The journey was 100 kilometers. The destination? Nowhere in particular.
They say every ride is a meditation. This one was interrupted enlightenment—with a foratura (flat tire) just to keep things interesting. Like all good koans, the lesson arrived suddenly, with a hiss. Impermanence, meet inner tube (I have got tubeless but the concept is the same).
Still, the path unfolded as it must. Through Ely, Soham, near Thetford, each village passed like thoughts through a quiet mind. I earned a few personal records along the way: “Tud-to-Cav,” “Don’t Hold Up the Cars”… poetic names for moments of fleeting speed. But PRs are illusions. True progress lies in simply continuing.
Stats? Sure.
Distance: 102.63 km.
Elevation: 598 meters.
Time in motion: nearly 4 hours.
Calories burned: 1,552 (not that the body keeps count).
Average speed: 26 km/h—not chasing, not resisting.
Strava kindly applauded my weekly goal. But the real reward was the sunrise over empty roads, the breath visible in cold air, and the stillness between pedal strokes.
Fixing a flat on the roadside wasn’t a setback—it was part of the path. A moment to be still, to laugh, to remember that resistance causes suffering, but a patch kit brings peace.
Ride over, legs aching, heart full. There is no finish line, only this moment, and the next turn of the cranks.
Zen Mindfulness Cambridge Zenways Italia 