Why is it always women who are taking their clothes off?  I haven’t even read this specific article, but I think the general gist is that it’s a plus-size model trying to make a point about body-shaming.  But whatever the reason, it’s seems like it’s always women stripping down – celebrities who aren’t happy with this or that (Catherine Zeta-Jones being the latest), women who want to normalize breast-feeding, athletes making a point about something (thinking of Lindsay Vonn here), models, etc., etc., etc.  Personally, while I am totally against body-shaming, am massively in favor of women’s right to breastfeed everywhere without shame, and think Lindsay Vonn is amazing, I am tired of seeing press about women stripping down for one reason or another.  I never seem to run across men in their skivvies on the subway.  Personally, I am no fan of modesty in general.  It’s such a slippery slope.  I just wish women would get more media coverage for things other than their bodies, and I’m not sure strutting around in the nude or near-nude is going to help.

Also, I would like to point out that your average plus-size model has a waist smaller than mine.

On the subject of bodies, I’ve finally realized why my head is so big yet looks so small.  Folks, I have a narrow deep head.  Did I get squished during childbirth or something?  I’ve come to this realization in the process of trying to find a helmet that fits properly.  I’m ending up with these giant Men’s large helmets that look ridiculous on my narrow head and are also very heavy.  So annoying!

I’ve been continuing to enjoy cycling.  It’s hard to find time to do it when it’s not raining or dark, but when I do get out, it’s great.  Today I cycled 10.6 miles in a little over an hour with an average speed of 10.5 mph and a max speed of 24.6 mph.  That sounds pretty slow, and it is, but I am getting faster.  The local bicycle club here is Cascade, and they offer free group rides.  The rides are categorized as Easy (<10 mph), Leisurely (10-12 mph), Steady (12-14 mph) and on up to Super Strenuous (22+ mph).  There are few or no rides in the slowest categories, so it would be great if I could get my speed up to 12 mph so I could join in rides in the Steady category.  I’d really like to meet some other cyclists.

Right now, I’m in the process of trying to convince my friends to take up triathlon, but it’s a hard sell, mostly because of the swimming.  I did recently find out a co-worker I’ve been friendly with for many years wants to do an Olympic tri late this summer.  I can see that as a goal, though my main objective is to do any tri, no matter how short.  Seattle does not exactly have a wealth of short triathlons.  This one is very typical, with the “super sprint” having a swim of 400m, bike of 16.4 mi, and 3.1 mi run.  The Olympic distance is 1500m swim, 25 mile bike and 6 mile run.  Obviously, the swim would be the biggest problem for me.  Swimming a mile in open water is no joke.  As a point of comparison, the half ironman has a swim of only 1900m, with a 56 mile bike ride and 13 mile run.  The Olympic distance is disproportionately weighted towards the swim, which I think will be my worst “event.”  Anyway, one thing at a time.  I’ll start with a super sprint and then decide if I want to try something longer.