The joys of cycling, Night time or early morning cycling along the tree laden former railway lines converted into paths. Unbelievable the hidden nature it reveals………Some friends of mine usually do a dusk to dawn cycle ride on winter Solstice.
There’s something deeply grounding about moving through darkness with your own pool of light. The world narrows to what matters: the rhythm of pedalling, breath, tyres on the trail. No noise, no pressure, no commentary, just presence. That stillness you feel isn’t empty; it’s alive. And those flickers of reflected eyes in the beam? They remind you that you’re passing quietly through a world that’s usually hidden, not dominating it.
That to me is retirement, having a base to live, but not beholding to stay! Freedom to move but no timetable to return.