Hobbling Through Europe After Four Days in Paris

Exercise is not about impressing people with how much weight I can lift, how many miles I can cycle, how long I can hold a hip flexor stretch, or what the scale says about me.Exercise is my therapist for body and mind. It has kept me sane and healthy for 60+ years.I practiced Yoga before it was cool, took up distance running in the 1980s, discovered the benefits of weight training to strengthen my bones and muscles during menopause, started bicycling during the pandemic when my gym was closed, and learned that variety in exercise is the key to sticking to a fitness routine.Variety has kept me motivated and prevented the muscle imbalances that forced me to give up marathoning after years of too many miles of obsession-fueled running.As the years have passed, I’ve learned to ease up on my fitness obsession and found ways to exercise outside formal training sessions. Fitness is not an end but a means to enjoy life and go the distance of however many years the good Lord gifts me with. I can do things people half my age can’t.And so, when I recently retired from my formal career as a journalist and set out on a 6-week journey through Europe with my partner—knowing I would not have…