Getting to know you Catherine’s getting to know her Lemond e-bike, for real this time
cycling · fitness

Catherine’s getting to know her Lemond e-bike, for real this time

catherine w1 Comment

As a gigantic birthday present for turning 60, I bought myself a Lemond Prolog all-carbon e-bike. It is a beauty. And it handles like buttah.

Catherine's matte black carbon e-bike, on a visit to London, Ontario a while back.
Catherine’s matte black carbon e-bike, on a visit to London, Ontario a while back.

However, in the years since buying it, I haven’t been riding it much. Why not? Insert your favorite reasons here, adding side helpings of lack-of-fitness shame and anxiety, and that pretty much explains it.

This year I’ve been cautiously venturing out of my inertial state of less activity and taking some steps and strokes and stretches, experiencing what movement has to offer me. A bit of yoga, some walking, some swimming, and yes, some cycling– they are all back on my schedule in modest portions.

And then there is the matter of this bike. I’m somewhat handy with easy maintenance and repair (with a lot of help from friends), but this bike is different from my previous ones. It has thru axle rather than quick-release wheels. Also it has disc brakes, and there’s a motor cable connected to the rear wheel. All this means I have to relearn how to change tubes on this bike.

So I began that journey this week. I went to my LBS (local bike shop) to get the right tubes (this bike has 38mm tires). Check. And I have the necessary 6mm and 8mm hex wrenches for loosening the front and rear thru axles, respectively (why different sizes? Only Greg Lemond knows; or maybe some of you do, too?) Check.

But (and it’s a big but): some of the internet recommends that I use a torque wrench (with 6mm and 8mm bits) to tighten the wheels. Uh, okay.

But what kind of torque wrench? I learned that I can buy a cheap one at Home Depot for $35, or a fancy one at the LBS for $240. Hmmm. And do I REALLY need the torque wrench for tightening the wheels? Yes, it’s an all carbon bike, and cracking the carbon by overtightening would be a world-ending (or rather, frame-ending) scenario. But can I just be careful while tightening them, making them not to loose but not too tight? In other words, can I get it juuuust riiight?

Not too tight, not too loose. Just right. Words to live by.
Not too loose, not too tight– just right. Words to live by.

Given that I received mixed messages about torque wrench usage, I turned to friends and nice employees at the LBS. The consensus seems to be that while, yes, the torque wrench is recommended, and several people I know actually own one , they don’t actually use them for changing out tubes and tightening wheels. They’re all happy to lend me theirs.

Okay. I get the picture. So, all that remains is to bring up my bike stand from the basement and practice a bit so I can be comfortable changing a tube on the side of the road if need be. I’ve got my saddle back fully stocked with the right tubes and tools.

One more thing: I really like this e-bike, but in fact it doesn’t fit me like a glove the way my other bikes do. And I thought I was stuck with this configuration, as it has a monocoque (one-piece) cockpit (handlebar plus stem setup). So, it can’t be adjusted.

Or can it? The nice folks at my LBS (Belmont Wheelworks if anyone is interested) said it might be possible to change out the steerer tube (yes, I’m getting very bike wonky here, but will be done soon) to adjust the height of the handlebars. Or, I can go full Frankenbike and put on my own handlebars, stem, etc. (with the help of the kind LBS-ers). I will be exploring my options and will report back on the results.

In summary: I’m getting to know my e-bike much more intimately, and the two of us will make adjustments so we can ride along more happily together. Which is all we both ever wanted in the first place.

Bike love!
Bike love!
Nat’s trying a new saddle to move from “sores” to “soars”
cycling · equipment · Sat with Nat

Nat’s trying a new saddle to move from “sores” to “soars”

natalieh (she/her)2 Comments

My beloved road bike, Ethyl, is now twelve years old. Twelve years of a fair amount of cycling.

I was so pleased with my MS Bike Tour I didn’t want to talk about the downside. Mild irritation in the crease of my left inner thigh Day 1 turned into a full blown saddle sore Day 2. I had a tear about the length of my thumb that took a week to heal.

I had used chamois cream and wore good bibs. I wasn’t completely surprised it happened. Lately that one spot got a bit hot on even the shortest rides.

Michel has been gently cajoling me for years to upgrade my saddle. It’s the first customization most cyclists make, investing in a better saddle for a more comfortable ride.

My posture on the bike is not terribly aggressive. I adopt closer to a touring profile rather than a racing postures. My handlebars are even with my saddle so no need for a shorter saddle snout.

My original saddle shows discoloration along the white stripe. The paint is worn away and the “Liv” logo is mostly worn off.

I was dropping Michel’s bike off for new tires at To Wheels so I asked Andrew for a recommendation.

We looked at my current saddle size. It had been working for me until this year.

There are many choices to make. My goal was to get as narrow a profile as possible to reduce how much my legs rub against the side of the saddle.

I settled on Specialized’s Women’s Romin Evo Comp with MIMIC. Andrew recommended going up from a 143 mm to a 155mm for how most folks sit and the geometry.

It was about $150 Canadian, taxes in. There are plenty of more advanced and expensive options but I’m not that kind of athlete.

Once home, I had a bit of a challenge getting my old saddle off the bike. It was quite rusted on.

Nat looks at the camera with some grim determination. The offending and stubborn saddle is over her right shoulder bathed in WD-40

After failing to loosen the fastener I sprayed it with WD-40 because, in my heart of hearts, I’m an engineer. Engineers know if something isn’t moving, and it should, always try WD-40.

The magic juice loosened everything up and I was able to swap saddles. I had remembered to measure the distance from my bars to my saddle and recreated the geometry of my set up.

A top down short of my new saddle, securely installed on Ethyl.

I hopped on my bike for a quick rip around my neighbourhood. It definitely felt weird. To be fair, my old saddle was worn out and my butt is used to that. Andrew had warned me it would take a few weeks to adjust to it as well as for the saddle to break in. He also reassured me that for the first 30 days I could bring it back for exchange if the size or style didn’t work for me.

I seem to have installed it far enough back and straight. Yay!

So here’s to soaring along without hot spots. I’m giving it a good test today as I try a 100 km Populaire .

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Dreaming of progress in the next World Cup competitions

marthafitat55Leave a comment

It’s been almost three weeks since Spain claimed the men’s 2026 World Cup title. I had a lot of fun tracking the results of the knock out rounds with a group of international fans online and in person in our favourite pub watching on the big screen eating super fresh fish and chips.

Here I am celebrating the big win:

Martha, wearing a red football jersey from Team Spain, waves her hands with joy after Spain wins the 2026 Men’s World Cup.

I wrote a month ago about the number of women serving as referees in the global competition. I never saw a game where one of the women served as a centre referee, but I did see a game where one of the women was one of three refs in the VAR control room.

Although women officiated in three group stage matches as centre refs, and another four as non-centre refs, to date no woman has ever refereed a men’s final (quarter, semi or gold). However, Tori Penso, the American referee, was stellar as the centre ref for the Women’s World Cup final in 2023, which Spain also won.

I’m really hoping that the 2027 Women’s World Cup and the 2028 Men’s World Cup have more women in the refereeing ranks. At a minimum, perhaps their presence will reduce the number of shenanigans displayed by the male players. One can dream, right?

— MarthaFitat55 has never played soccer, but once scored a goal in her exceedingly short career as a forward in floor hockey.

aging · death · fitness

Physical, Mental, Financial…

Diane Harper3 Comments

We talk a lot here about physical fitness and health, and frequently about mental health. This week, though, I have been thinking a lot about financial health. Or at least about having my financial affairs in order.

I’m some ways, my financial things are pretty straightforward. I worked for the federal government for most of my career, so there was only one pension to worry about, and I’m already collecting that. I have a will (it was actually a requirement before my first posting abroad). But there have been other bits and pieces of information that I really should put together someplace where my kids can find it: I have a bit of money in other financial institutions, an RRSP I set up years ago with a out-of-town friend who has long-since retired, account numbers and passwords for everything from the hydro bill to credit cards.

And I need to figure out how to keep it all up to date (lesson learned from my dad, who kept records of everything including the adoption of our family dog in 1969 in his handy binder of key information, but had not updated info on an insurance policy so it took me a over year to track it down to get it paid out).

I have questions too. Do I need to keep some sort of proof of ownership for my cottage and house, or will that require a title search anyway before the kids can take over and sell them? What do I want to happen with my cats?

And my books? I have some that are probably of value because they are rare and out of print, but they are pretty niche. I have promised the kids I would provide the names of a few friends who might be interested in them. I’ll provide a list of those I think would be worth reselling or passing on to a museum. But if they choose to just dump them? I have promised I won’t be offended because I’ll be dead.

The same general principle applies to my craft supplies and the furniture I love because it came from my grandparents, assuming I haven’t yet downsized myself.

Speaking of being dead, I should add funeral plans to my list and make sure the kids know my wishes (and if I arrange a pre-paid thing, ensure they know where to find that information).

It feels overwhelming to deal with all these details, on top of managing Mom’s financial affairs. But each time I get through a little task, the mental burden lifts a bit.

This week’s achievement was moving furniture from Mom’s and my houses to the cottage. I finally have a proper bedroom and place to eat, and both Mom’s basement and the room I use for my fitness studio are significantly less cluttered. It was definitely a workout loading up a van then getting into the cottage from the parking area.

My cottage bedroom, finally with a dresser and a proper bed. One of my grandma’s crocheted throws is at the end, with my cat Pandora sitting on it.

I spent much of the rainy long weekend relaxing on that bed, alternating with making lists of next steps to ensure my financial health.

How about you? Do you have all your financial information and wishes organized and accessible? Or is it something you dread contemplating?

Spending Time with My Selves in Paris
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Spending Time with My Selves in Paris

MinaLeave a comment

On the Eurostar from London to Paris, I felt my identity transitioning, as if Trail Mina was tucking herself back onto a shelf, as City Mina climbed down to take her place.  

Early that morning I’d been out hiking on the fells in the Lake District, my eighth day in a row of reveling on trails through long-grassed sheep meadows, above the shores of Ullswater Lake, up steep scree fields in dense fog and across knife’s edge ridge lines. Before dinner, there was a bracing swim. All of this, my happiest kinds of places. I alternated between two sweatshirts for the post hike afternoons and evenings reading and hanging out with family.

At the top of Place Fell in the Lake District

So, my reckless weeks of rest began.

On the train, I was headed to another kind of happy place, a city to lose myself in. From the sweatshirts, countryside and home cooked meals, it was time now for linen shirts and dresses, café culture and hubbub. Even if Paris is relatively empty in August, it is still bustling.  

I haven’t been here since 2019, with my ex. We came often and for a month or two at a stretch. Every time I’ve thought about coming back, I’ve worried I would drown in memories. Then, when I was planning this trip, I decided it was time. Ready or not.  As soon as I got off the train in Gare du Nord, my whole body was suffused with pleasure. Exchanging the full body goodness of a hiking trail for an equivalent fullness of sparkle in this city.  

Here, I will move in my usual city ways. Today I went to a Pilates class around the corner from where I’m staying. I passed the sign on a wander. Tomorrow I will run along the Seine. Another day, I’ll ride a Velib (their social bike system) to the Bois de Boulogne and run in that park.

I also have a specific intention: to treat this time as a writing retreat. Take the mornings for words on pages.  The afternoons and evenings for wandering the city. Seeing what I see. Letting myself be moved by whatever the energy invites.  

Matcha latte and writing notebook

And all these ideas I have about how I spend my time depend on whether I can keep from drowning, because the memories are indeed with me. I somehow did not realize that I would be staying a one-minute walk away from the first hotel we stayed at in Paris, on a narrow street, one block long. The hotel is still there, more than 30 years later.  I stood in front of it and remembered rushing, jet lag groggy, to catch the last minutes of breakfast, which was served in a cozy cave with lumpy stone walls. Such croissants.

I am surprised to find that keeping my head above water is less of an effort than I expected. I can love the time I spent here as part of a couple. I can miss my companion. Yet, the melancholy moves through me right alongside the pleasure.

Here, past and present commingle, flowing between who I was and who I am. Trail Mina. City Mina. Married Mina. Single Mina.

In front of that hotel, I felt Young Mina of 30 years ago step out onto the sidewalk to join me. There’s so much I’d love to tell her.

female showing bra against blue background Bra Doping: The Tour de France Femmes’ Newest Body-Policing Problem
fitness

Bra Doping: The Tour de France Femmes’ Newest Body-Policing Problem

Sam B1 Comment

“Bra doping” is the phrase making the rounds in cycling news this week, and no, it’s not what it sounds like. Nobody has been accused of stashing performance-enhancing drugs in their sports bra. What’s actually being alleged is aerodynamic: some riders may be padding their bras or wearing specially shaped inserts to smooth the airflow around their chests during the individual time trial — a trick cyclists call a “chest fairing.”

To be clear up front: as of this writing, no rider has been found to have cheated. This started as concerns raised by rival teams, reported by the Dutch outlet WielerFlits, and it prompted the UCI to run extra equipment checks before Tuesday’s time trial at this year’s Tour de France Femmes.

Why would this even matter? Because time trials are won and lost in fractions of a second, and aerodynamics researchers say the underlying science is real — a chest fairing can measurably cut drag.

I was struck by two things. First, wow, a competitive sports advantage for large-breasted women! Is this a first? Second, the riders are mostly not very large-breasted women since there is such a competitive advantage in having a lower-weight body in cycling, particularly climbing hills in France. They all look very thin to me.

Here’s where it gets interesting, feminist-issue-wise. This isn’t actually a new problem. Men have been doing versions of this for years, tucking ice packs or water bottles down the front of their jerseys for the same aero effect, and the UCI has already banned that. Dutch rider Jan-Willem van Schip is something of a repeat offender. He was disqualified from the Ronde de l’Oise this past June for racing a time trial with a hydration pack stuffed into the front of his jersey, chasing the same “chest fairing” effect riders are now being accused of getting from padded bras. Same physics, same rule against altering your body’s shape for aero gain — just a very different object doing the altering.

But policing it for men is comparatively simple. After all, a bottle-shaped lump under a jersey is a bottle-shaped lump. Women’s bodies don’t offer that same clean test. Breast size varies naturally, rider to rider and even day to day, which means the UCI’s fix — sending riders through pre-race chest checks — puts officials in the position of eyeballing bodies and making judgment calls about what’s “natural” and what isn’t.

Unsurprisingly, that went about as well as you’d expect. The riders’ association pushed back hard on how the checks were rolled out — thrown together the night before, with little warning — and specifically raised concerns about rider “dignity and privacy” being protected during what amounts to officials inspecting women’s chests before they’re allowed to start. A female commissaire was assigned to do the actual checking, which maybe helps, but doesn’t erase the strangeness of the situation: a sport already prone to scrutinizing women’s bodies in every other respect is now formally empowered to scrutinize them for hidden padding before a race.

So here’s the tension I keep turning over: on one hand, a rule against artificially altering your body shape for aero gain is a completely normal kind of equipment regulation — no different in principle from banning an illegal bike frame. On the other hand, applying that rule to breasts, specifically, in a sport that already treats women’s bodies as endlessly inspectable, is not a neutral act. It’s hard to imagine an equivalent scenario for men that would involve officials in a tent making judgment calls about whether a body part looks “natural.”

What do you think? Does fairness require stricter enforcement? And is there a way to enforce a rule like this that doesn’t put women’s bodies under yet another layer of scrutiny?

Further reading: Jan-Willem van Schip disqualified again — Cyclingnews | UCI conducts chest-area kit checks — Canadian Cycling Magazine | chest checks video

silhouette of person riding on commuter bike
Photo by Flo Maderebner on Pexels.com
a calendar from Action for Happiness for August 2026 Altruistic August from Action for Happiness? Sounds like a plan!
fitness · habits · self care

Altruistic August from Action for Happiness? Sounds like a plan!

Christine Hennebury1 Comment

Whether you call it kindness or you use a ten-cent-word like altruism, the world needs a lot more of it right now and the Action for Happiness calendar for August is a great place to start.

As always, the calendar is full of small practices that almost anyone could try but if you don’t feel up to the practice of the day, it’s totally cool to be kind in a whole different way. I’m sure you have a huge repertoire of kind actions you can take at any time.

In fact, even though this calendar is about being kind to others, it’s also a swell idea to practice being kinder to ourselves – these Self-Compassion Practices from Dr. Kristin Neff are a good place to start.

And the small actions are the most important part.

It’s pretty easy to get caught up in waiting to do a big project or to solve a big problem but to not actually be able to get started.

Doing a small thing right now is way better than developing a big thing that never actually gets done.

So, as you give these small actions a whirl, please don’t worry that you aren’t doing enough right now. It’s ok to take the small steps now and let them build over time.

Here’s the full calendar for this month and today’s action is pretty straightforward, “Ask someone how they feel and really listen to their reply.”

Good luck out there, folks!

a calendar from Action for Happiness for August 2026
An image of a calendar of tips for Altruistic August 2026 that features small cartoon drawings of altruistic along the bottom edge. (for example, someone is putting coins in a tin, someone else is offering noodles to a friend, someone else is picking up garbage. Each block of the calendar features an action for that day and the background of each block is either dark or light blue or dark or light green.
A video from the Action for Happiness YouTube channel entitled, “Never underestimate the power of small acts of kindness.” The still image features Vanessa King, a middle-aged woman with medium blonde hair cut in a bob with a bang. She is wearing a white top with a series of red bead necklaces looped around her neck. Text to the right of the image reads, “Kindness Matters” in red and “3 tops tips with Vanessa King” in yellow.
It’s a holiday Monday. RELAX
fitness

It’s a holiday Monday. RELAX

Nicole P,Leave a comment

Morning workout. Admired my deltoids in motion when doing banded jumps. Easy banter with coach and workout mate.

Coffee was nice on quiet, otherwise busy, holiday morning street.

Let’s go to the cafe for brunch. It’s not open yet. Plan B “inspired” smorgasbord of eggs, whole grain toast with PB&J. Turkey sausage and carrots.

Relax on patio. Blue sky. 5 min reprieve. 

Take call. Handle best as possible. Hope for best. 

Forced relaxation. Put the umbrella up. Relax. Relax. It was raining yesterday. No work. Relax.

Smoothie. Charge phone. Charge me.

Make oat bars for upcoming train ride. Oats. Dates. Chia. Flax. Cinnamon. Vanilla. Raspberries. Marshmallow for fun. Fun. 

Fun. Relax. It’s a holiday. Relax while you can. How are you relaxing today? 

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And then there were three! #IntoTheWoods, #Algonquin, #canoetime

Sam BLeave a comment

Susan

One way or another, I’ve been heading into Algonquin for 20 years with a variety of friends, family, lovers and dogs. To say it is a sacred and integral part of my life is to understate what it means. The four years I’ve been away from it have been achy (not just because of the lack of Park, there’s been plenty to ache my heart). Yet, every summer that ended without me spending time in a tent on a lake with a canoe parked under a tree and a loon calling just around the corner, was another piece of grief. So this summer, as I reorganized my life, again, after so many losses, again, I messaged Sam and Sarah to see if they would have me on their trip with them. 

In part, my failure to plan trips was due to my increasing trepidation about my body. Pandemic, menopause, auto-immune conditions all conspired to rob me of confidence that I could still endure and do this thing. So going with people who never gave it up, who knew they could adapt themselves, was heartening. I was very surprised at what I found out about my capacity.

First of all, the things that hurt while I’m not on a trip barely hurt while I was on the trip. Other things hurt of course, but I was so happy to feel tiredness in my shoulders and quads, knowing it was because I was moving, rather than the vague ache of. . .pick the poison. . .sedentariness, grief, age, decline, despair. . .it all adds up. In fact, there were ways I was stronger somehow. I have never given up yoga and Pilates and always focused on balance. I have this notion that I am no longer agile and that my core isn’t what it used to be but I was wrong. I think the last number of years I have spent in meditative stillness have conditioned something I never had before that practice became a huge part of my life. There is a core conditioning and balance along with a softness and awareness that means my body knows where it is and what it is doing. It knows what hurts in the way of “discomfort” and what hurts in the way of “don’t do that”. Discomfort is far more prevalent and discomfort I can handle.

I can feel that I’m at another crossroad, I could just stop pushing and drift to a customary decline or I could keep brushing up against my limits and seeing what beauty I can find. The verdant beauty of the earth expressed in Algonquin park is worth pushing for. I was so happy and confident about how this trip went that I booked more vacation and decided to bring friend of the Blog, Kim, on the trip she’s been pestering me for since we met. We will report back on Older Women In The Park, Susan and Kim edition, after Labour Day!

Three friends smiling together by the lakeside, surrounded by nature and reflecting water, with green hills in the background.

Sam

Like Susan, I love love love canoe camping. There’s something very special about it and no other sort of holiday scractches the same itch.

It’s effort and natural beauty, yes. It’s also no phones and hammock naps. I love swimming after a hard paddle. I love eating food that’s been cooked over the samp stove. I love basking on rocks. And I know it’s a minority view, but I love sleeping in tents.

I go at least once every summer, sometimes more. This summer this was our first trip but we have two more planned.

It’s the vacation that packs the most bang for buck in terms of rest and relaxation and the feeling of really getting away. Three or four days in the woods isn’t that much time, but it feels like a real holiday.

I also love that I’m still learning new things. This trip, for the first time, I carried my pack and my canoe. I learned that in some ways that’s easier. Yes, it’s a lot more weight but it felt better on my shoulders.

It was lovely to get out there again with Susan since that’s really how our friendship began, on a canoe trip in the woods.

She had the uncomfortable middle spot in our canoe but this inspired us to get a third removable seat.

A person wearing sunglasses and a cap smiles while holding a canoe overhead in a forested area.

Sarah

Seems like this was a bit of a different trip for everyone this year. Susan returning after a hiatus, and Sam growing in strength and confidence a few years out from knee surgery. 

For me, the biggest hiccup this year wasn’t work, and it wasn’t the dramatic car part failure that meant switching cars and shaving a day off our trip. I’m currently dealing with a frozen left shoulder – not usually hugely painful but the restricted range of motion means I can’t reach up to hold the gunwales when the canoe is on my shoulders. This means that for the first time since we’ve been tripping, I would need to rely entirely on my companions to portage the canoe. 

Fortunately, Susan and Sam were both more than up for the challenge and were more than capable at carrying and manoeuvring Sam’s unwieldy (when it’s not in the water) 17’ canoe. For someone who’s used to being self-reliant in the backcountry, it was a wonderful experience to be able to literally share the load this trip.

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Smoke, Slow Recovery, and Six Women Referees: July 2026 on the Blog

Sam BLeave a comment

How many posts? More than 30 posts this month, through a run of heat and wildfire smoke that scrambled a lot of our workout plans — proof that showing up looks different every summer.

Who blogged? Sam, Diane, Christine, Nat, Catherine, Mina, Tracy, Martha, Elan, and guest blogger Chloë.

Recovery and what the body actually needs. A strong thread this month was on healing slower — and more honestly — than planned. Diane’s cardiac-rehab arc continued in Recovery is Weird, where her Garmin body battery finally climbed out of the “depleted” zone even as her intensity minutes stayed baffling. Mina’s Deny Pain, Heal Faster; if only … looked back at a shoulder injury that turned out to be several fractures and torn tissue, and wondered whether not knowing the full diagnosis for a month actually helped her heal with less fear and guarding. Nat worked through the final stage of a back injury in Nat, spinal movement and the Jefferson curl, learning to trust movements she’d been avoiding out of old caution. And Tracy’s C25K is taking longer than 9 weeks and that’s okay traced how a running program stalled out after she lost her mother, and how she’s found her way back to it.

Guest voices on bodies and belief. Chloë’s guest post What I thought my body was for was a standout: a lifelong “mind person” who took up jiu-jitsu in her forties and discovered a forty-year-old assumption about her own physical limits was never actually true — just an old, unquestioned story.

Heat, smoke, and summer plans going sideways. Climate kept elbowing its way into the blog’s usual summer rhythms. Sam’s summer movement plans go awry catalogued a cascade of cancelled rides, smoky air quality, a shuttered pool, and a too-hot dog walk, while Nat’s Summer’s in full swing and Nat couldn’t be happier found the bright side of an early-morning, heat-dodging routine of walking, biking, and lane swims. Sam and her crew still managed a four-day canoe camping trip into Algonquin (“Type 1.5 fun,” by consensus), and Catherine spent two weeks travelling and noticing the small sensory pleasures of summer — cold rivers, gravel underfoot, one very memorable watermelon slushie — in Mid-summer: a time for ordinary movement and extraordinary sensory experience.

Charity miles for good causes. Nat rode the MS Bike Tour (Today’s the day!), a weekend that’s become a fixture in her relationship with Michel. Diane paid forward her open-water swimming in Sometimes Good Things Grow, serving as a swim angel at Bring on the Bay for the fourth year running. And Sam wrapped the month gearing up for the Great Cycle Challenge in support of SickKids, after laying out her whole summer and fall of charity riding in Sam’s August Charity Riding.

Feminism, sport, and language in the news. Martha’s Blowing the Whistle on Gender at the World Cup celebrated the six women officiating the men’s tournament this year — a record, even if still a small fraction of FIFA’s roster. Diane’s My FIFA Protest Has Turned into Something Pretty Great turned frustration with lopsided World Cup coverage into a new love of the Northern Super League. And Martha’s Incompetent, blighted, senile took on the quietly damning language medicine uses for women’s bodies — incompetent cervix, senile vagina — and argued for language that doesn’t blame the patient for the problem.

Retreats, rest, and work-life boundaries. Catherine spent four days at a meditation retreat for neurodivergent people in North Carolina, previewed memorably in Neurodivergent meditation retreat preview: the fans (an ode to industrial box fans in a humid mountain hall). Mina’s When Rest Feels Reckless sat with the discomfort of taking five unpaid weeks away from work, and the old voice insisting she hasn’t earned the rest. Christine kept finding her own way back to consistency, from a “you don’t need motivation, you need a decision” meditation prompt in Meditation Jumpstarts Christine’s New Exercise Routine to rediscovering movement-snack cards from an old favourite book in (Finally) Circling Back to Trisha Durham’s ‘Movement Snacks’.

Sam’s dean life meets the blog. In Is Looking at Art Really the New Running?, Sam brought her day job as Dean of Arts at Guelph into conversation with the blog, digging into the research behind claims that gallery visits can be as good for you as a run — and landing on cautious enthusiasm for treating art as part of a whole-life approach to health.

Trackers, streaks, and small daily wins. Elan reflected on five years of wearing an Oura ring in A Fitbit for My Finger, Five Years On, noting how her relationship to the data has quietly simplified over time. Sam kept her Zwift streak alive through the heat in Sam’s Zwift streak abides!, and the team traded reflections on their most valuable personal habits — sleep, meal planning, morning movement — in The bloggers and our best habits.

Checking in as a team. July 2 brought Happy Halfway Day!, the bloggers’ traditional midyear check-in on their words of the year, and Elan closed out the month interviewing Sam about her long-running “3 good things” practice in Positive is Practice, digging into negativity bias and what it means to notice the good on purpose.

Month-in-review posts are assembled by Claude with prompts from Sam and edited by Sam. If you spot any errors, let us know.