My one hour at the gym is part of my daily routine.

My escape, my alone time, my time to sweat.

I get on a bike, turn on my music and I ride like a crazy woman to tune out the world. At the gym, there was an adorable older couple, probably early 80’s, who would walk into the gym holding hands. They would slowly make their way to the exercise bikes,  making stops along the way to give everyone hugs and say hello.

I would continue to pedal at a fast speed, but I always exchanged smiles and winks as the couple would sit on the bikes next to me. The woman was always dressed very well. A pair of slacks, a blouse, and her hair looked like it was just done. She sat on her bike and her pedals moved very slowly.

When I was done with my hour she always looked at me and in her Russian voice and would say, “Great job.”

One day I forgot my headset, so I was ready to start my sweat session with no music. After much time of nods, winks, and polite goodbyes. The older women sat on the bike next to me and we began to talk. The first thing she said was. “See that young guy working out over there… he is my boyfriend….don’t tell my husband.”

She was wonderful, she was funny and smart, and full of life. She told me stories of growing up in Russia with her family and the awful things she went through. She talked about the paths she had taken to become a strong and grateful person. She talked about her children and her grandchildren, bragging about all their accomplishments. She told me about cancer she was fighting, not for the first time.

She told me her husband picked out her outfits for the gym, that he liked when she was dressed up.  She said she was happy when she looked good for him. She would knit me beautiful items and say it kept her hands busy. But I believe she wanted to make me something so I would always have a part of her.

So I continued my hour workouts at the gym, and when I saw my friend we rode our bikes together and talked. I slowed my spinning down to not rush the time and she continued spinning slowly to save every moment of life.

Slowly her knitted caps began to cover the hair she was losing from the chemo, but she still showed up to ride her bike. And each day she wore the outfit her husband picked out for her and they walked in hand and hand into the gym ….until the day came that I saw him walk in alone.

I continue to ride my bike and there are days that I spin my legs as fast as I can. But there are days that I slow down, put on my knitted hat and ride my bike slowly with a big smile thinking of my friend who always dressed so lovely when she came to the gym❤️ We must remind ourselves and our children there is a time to spin our pedals fast and then there is the time to slow our pedals down and enjoy the ride.🦋🚴‍♂️🌈