I ride because the scenery takes my breath away

My name is Kamran Rostami and I'm a Physician and Gastroenterologist at Palmerston North Hospital. It's pleasant living just out of city and yet not far from hospital. My morning cycle starts with pushing the bike up a steep hill. The scenery takes my breath away as the landscape is gorgeous, especially on my left as I make my climb.

Massey University village is a green-marine ocean which surrounds the shiny blue diamond of a university stadium. The sun shines yellow and orange through the trees, which lean on the horizon hanging mountains, softly touching the green grasses. On a cloudy day, the ocean looks dark green under a clean silver cloud which seems so close to earth that you may be able to touch them if you stretch yourself just a bit longer.

Moving along down Summerhill towards Fitzherbert Bridge, the bike wheels accelerate, excited to approach the Manawatū River. From a distance the bridge looks beautiful, like a mermaid with her head laying just before the bridge. Her smile is warm, inviting, and attracts you instantly to the bottom of hill. She looks as if she's hugging the bridge, arms stretched out to the left and right of river while her tail extends between Victoria Esplanade and Wallace Park.

Sleekly sliding over the scales of the mermaid tail, the green BP fuel station, which sells the biggest scoops of ice cream, comes in sight. Before the ice cream melts, you're woken up from the sweet thoughts by the mermaid flicking you swiftly onto Te Awe Awe with the end of her tail and immediately right into Awatea Terrace where the traffic noise instantly dies.

It feels like being on an exotic quiet island where you hear only the breeze and the sounds of birds. The island is covered with large, kind-hearted trees with green long hair, down to earth just like the people of Palmy.

I see occasionally a cat come out of a house, yawning, and I think they are silently screaming for a morning coffee. This road takes me through the curves and trees, while the leaves wave me goodbye, gently shaken by a breeze, and I'm connected to Park Road.

On Park Road the bright sunrise dazzles me, filling me with life and a smile full of vivid memories of the Eastern sunrises of my childhood.