The International Transgender Day of Visibility (March 31) is dedicated to honouring transgender people and raising awareness of the discrimination faced by that community worldwide while celebrating their contributions to society.
This day seems especially important this year as trans rights are under attack at various levels in the United States.
Here’s some of our past posts on the theme of trans Inclusion in sports:
I’ve written my own account of coming to not mind sweating as part of becoming an adult-onset athlete. See Gonna Make You Sweat.
So what’s the scoop with women’s all-over deodorants? Are they a problem? (Aside from me being annoyed by the ads for them that are taking over my newsfeed.)
It’s complicated. Of course it is.
I mean on the one hand, if these products meet a need and they get more women to feel comfortable exercising, that’s a good thing.
On the other, if they contribute to a culture of shame associated with having a woman’s body, that’s less good.
I remember in high school when they started marketing scented sprays for “female personal hygiene.” I think they still market scented tampons and pads though I’m past that stage of life. There is this idea that women’s bodies are particularly stinky and that women ought to do something about it.
Add exercise and sweat to the mix and it gets worse. There are lots of articles out there about boob sweat, for instance. See How to Survive Boob Sweat Season. You can even buy underboob sweat absorbing pads. And then there’s crotch sweat, vagina sweat, or between-the-legs sweat.
From the article: “Olivia Stober, a 26-year-old artist living in San Diego, said she had first started seeing ads for Secret Whole Body deodorant on YouTube earlier this year. She took particular issue with one ad that showed a montage of women exercising and hiking that began: “Want to know a secret? More than just my armpits stink.”
“I’m just like, you’ve got to be kidding me,” Ms. Stober said in an interview. “God forbid we go up for a hike and then smell like we have gone for a hike, right?”
In response, she created a TikTok video lamenting the commercial.
“They will invent something new for women to be ashamed of until the end of time,” Ms. Stober said in the clip. “We will never be free from those shackles I fear.”
Ms. Stober said that as a woman in her mid-20s, she feels confident in her decision to eschew whole body deodorant, but that may not be the case for other women and girls. She was particularly worried about tweens and teens hearing about the products and deciding there was something wrong with them that they needed to fix.
“You have a body, and you’re allowed to smell like you have a body,” she said.”
How about you? What do you think about women’s whole body deodorant? Do you agree with the worries or are you a fan?
April is almost here, and I’m in need of a refresh. Since January 20, I’ve felt angry, heartsick, afraid, overwhelmed, and oh so tired. And I see these same feelings in the faces and actions of my friends, family and community. Waiting around for others to do something about it isn’t helping. So, I’ve decided to take a page from the self-care playbooks and do something. Here are a few tips, along with the ways I’m following them. Feel free to join me or pick your own set of tips and invent a plan. And let us know what you’re up to, if you’re so inclined.
Tip #1:Get physical– plan some exercise, with friends or on your own.
One plan I have is to get a lot of steps in on Saturday, April 5 at the Hands Off! Massachusetts Protest Rally in Boston. It’s part of nationwide protests in the US. You can find more info here. I’ll either take public transport or ride my bike with my friend Norah to meet others and gather on the Boston Common. Then we march to City Hall Plaza for speakers. It’ll feel good to stretch my legs and work on taking back our democracy.
Tip #2: Get creative– try something new or familiar that stimulates your imagination, like art or crafts or poetry.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a proper protest rally without some good signs. I’m definitely planning on making some of my own. The Hands Off folks have provided lots of signs to print, like these:
Hands Off Science!Hands Off LGBTQ+ Rights!Hands Off Cancer Research!
These are great. But I also love ones that reflect our own individuality and perspective in the face of greed and cruelty.
IKEA has better cabinetsFOR SALE: DemocracyThe classic: It’s so bad, even introverts are here!
Someone has even gone to the trouble of creating a google spreadsheet with sign slogan ideas. My current favorite is “Does this Ass Make My Country Look Small (with pic of Trump). Check them add and feel free to add your own spin.
Tip #3: Get social– join friends or family or your community in some common endeavor, whether it is for entertainment or activism.
Lots of people I know are posting about going to these rallies in their hometowns. I’ll be amplifying this message on my social media, and also talking it up in my friend and community groups. And come Saturday, I’ll be meeting thousands of new friends in my town, with whom I have a very important purpose in common: saving our country from fascism. Not that one protest will do the trick, but it’s a step (or in this case, thousands of steps) in the right direction.
Tip #4: Get outside– take some time to immerse yourself in nature; this can include anything from urban parks to local woods.
We’ll be meeting at the Boston Common on Saturday morning around 11am, which is located outside. The Parkman Bandstand, our meeting point, is surrounded by lovely trees bushes and grasses. Honestly, it won’t look like this in April, but here’s a nice summery pic:
Parkman Bandstand on te Boston Common in summer. Worth visiting this week, too.
Tip #5: Get clear about boundaries– say no to the demands or conditions that you know are harmful to your well-being and that of others.
Oh, there will be lots of saying no in my future, and in all our futures.
No to illegal firings of federal and state employees working to support health, education, safety, and all the crucial everyday functions of our government.
No to bellicose threats to other countries with whom we’ve shared supportive and beneficial relationships with for decades and decades.
No to shutting down HIV clinics around the world, cancer clinical trials, measles and other vaccine education, the department o frigging education, and oh, the federal court system.
No to kidnapping students and holding them illegally, for no reason other than hate and intimidation.
Just no. Hands off, you bozos!
You know what? I already feel a little bit better. See, my self-care plan is starting to work. Of course, there’s actual work to do, and a lot of it, and for a sustained period. But I’ve got a plan. And I hope you’ll make one, too.
While I don’t think any of our regular contributors on the blog are Randonneurs (someone who has completed at least one official club brevet of 200 km or greater) we sure have written about it over the years.
And uh. Sam, Cate and a few others have been wondering, is 2025 the year to get into Randonneuring?
That first 200 km ride is a big milestone. It can feel like a big stretch from a metric (100km) or imperial (160km) century ride.
But maybe you too are “Rando Curious”.
I have great news! Your local Randonneur club likely has shorter distance rides called “populaires”. I think of them as popular for the people!
There are some better explanations on this amazing cycling YouTube channel by Randonneur Regan Arendse. He interviews my friend Randonneur Fred Chagnon and American Randonneur Joshua Haley
What I love about my local club, Randonneurs Ontario is that nearly every 200 km and longer brevet in 2025 has a Populaire distance ride paired with it.
It’s a great way to sample the sport, meet the humans and see what self supported rides can look like.
I completed a 100 km Populaire last year at the Railway City 200 km brevet. It was humbling so I didn’t go for a 200 km later in the season. I didn’t have the legs for it.
This year I’m volunteering at Railway City on August 9. The 200km is a figure 8 shape and the 100 km Populaire is the eastern lobe. It’s relatively flat and late enough in the season to find your legs. You can get the details Here
My current plan is to sign up for the women’s brevet hosted by the Toronto chapter on Saturday Sep 20. You can find details Here
So if you want to get a taste of the kind of riding the club offers I hope you will give a Populaire a try!
🐑 Well, it feels like the world is falling apart. There’s a fascist coup underway in the United States, the country with which we share the world’s longest undefended border. And Trump et al are talking about taking over Canada, either by force or by crushing us economically. We’re all worried about external influence on our upcoming election. So there’s that. I’ve written a bit about the mess we’re in here and here.
🐑 I am currently on research leave from my big job. I spent the first half of the month of March in Dunedin, New Zealand where it’s autumn and still warm-ish. I was a visitor in Philosophy at the University of Otago.
🐑 The second half of March is back in Ontario where it’s spring (but not really yet). Here, I’m a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Ethics at the University of Toronto.
Centre for EthicsCN tower as seen from Centre for EthicsSam selfie
🐑 The good news is that it’s now light for more than twelve hours a day here.
🦁 I’m at 95 workouts so far in the 2025 workout counting group, on track for 400 workouts this year.
🦁 I’m way way behind on my reading goals. I’m in the middle of about six different books and I can’t seem to finish any of them. But I am reading lots of non-fiction while on my research leave, so there’s that.
🦁 I sensibly dropped my cycling distance goal down from 5000 km a year to 3000. Here’s the plan: “A more reasonable goal for me I think is 50 km a week when I’m in Zwift mode and say 75 km a week in the summer months. Let’s say summer is 12 weeks, so that’s 900 km. The other 40 weeks, I’ll aim for 50 km, and that’s 2000 km. If I add and then round up, it’s 3000 km.”
🦁 I’m walking lots in Toronto, 10 km one day. I woke up the next day and my legs were sore but it wasn’t my knees. That was a good thing. Public transit, esp. streetcars, make me more likely to attempt big walks since I know that at any time I can change my mind and get a ride. One of those walks, the longest, involved a meet up with fellow blogger Nicole. It was so nice to see each other in person. The bloggers don’t often get to do that!
10 km of walkingScenes from Toronto walking
🦁 Swimming! I struggled to get into the pool for lane swimming/stroke improvement because I’m so not good that it’s not much of a fitness activity but this year I found an answer. I go early for aquafit so aquatfit is the workout and my lane swimming is the warm up. Mallory also had some good tips for me, since she both teaches swimming and she’s a very experienced lifeguard.
🦁 Yoga! Sarah and I have been taking hot yin yoga at the fancy gym and I’ve done some anti-gravity restorative yoga. One of the perks of my more flexible research leave schedule is being able to take group fitness classes during the day. Going back to my regular schedule might be hard but I’m also missing my job so I think it’ll balance out.
🦁 So far I’m still riding indoors since we returned to Canada (after lots and lots of outdoor NZ riding) but that will change in April. I plan to bring my Brompton to Toronto.
Usually, it occurs to me to share the Action for Happiness calendar once the month has already started but, for once, I have remembered to share it in advance.
You may even have time to plan!
I always really like the ‘small’ steps approach outlined in these calendars and I am slowly, slowly, slowly learning not to try and ‘catch up’ if I miss a day. I hope you can do the same or even just pick a few things to try here and there.
I also enjoy how Active April invites us to take action for our own happiness AND reminds us that being more active can help boost our mood and our feeling of well-being.
And, to be clear, suggesting that we seek these small moments of well being is not about being in denial of the state of the world right now. Instead, it is part of fortifying ourselves so we can do the necessary work of supporting our communities and resisting evil.
image description: a calendar of daily suggestions for Active April. The blocks are in different shades of blue and green and there are cartoon images of people doing a variety of activities around the edge.
An embedded video of Vanessa King from Action for Happiness entitled ‘No Happiness Without Action: 3 top tips with Vanessa King.’ The still image shows Vanessa Kind, a middle aged woman with shoulder length hair and bangs smiling toward the camera.
By the way, if you are looking for other things to try/celebrate/do in April, check out the list here of national days, weeks, and month celebrations here: National Days in April.
My continuing quest to improve my posture and knee health has taken me down the weird road of re-learning to walk. I didn’t quite realize that was what I was doing until I read Breath, by James Nestor. He writes about a multi-year drought project to learn about breathing, and how it has affected his health.
Obviously, I know how to walk. What I’m less good at is walking with my shoulders back, my torso lifted, and my head and feet at optimal angles. My new habit is to walk during my shifts on desk at the pool. I wiggle my shoulders to remind them to be wide both front and back. I peek at my reflection to make sure my feet are facing forward, rather than turned out like a duck’s.
I walk backwards sometimes (most of the benefits may be overstated, but it’s a good way for me to keep scanning the pool as I move around). I walk sideways. Sometimes I stop and go up on my toes 20 times, or do little leg lifts.
A Lego image of a lifeguard wearing a red bathing suit and pinny.
Similarly, I am trying a few of the techniques in Breath. I breathe in through my nose and exhale slowly out my mouth as much as possible when exercising. Sometimes I try box breathing, especially when I’m trying to relax. Occasionally, I’ll even do a bit of yoga alternate nostril breathing. The rest of the time, I focus on breathing only through my nose, at least when I’m awake. I have not yet resorted to taping or strapping my mouth shut for sleep, though I confess to having considered it.
Mina wrote recently about some of the alternative medicine things she is trying alongside her prescription medications. I thought it was an interesting approach.
Like Mina, I’m just doing them as entertaining supplements to my physiotherapy and prescribed medications. I think they’re helping a little. If not, that’s fine; they won’t hurt me (as long as I don’t trip).
I have started this post approximately 8 million times today and I just couldn’t get any momentum.
Some topics were too small to get anywhere with and others were too big to wrap my head around on this kind-of-low-energy, didn’t-sleep-well, had-a-Covid-booster-shot-this-morning day.
And I had actually posted to the other bloggers to see if anyone had something they wanted to post today instead of me but before anyone could take me up on it, I remembered my best ways of getting things done.
a) do the easy thing
b) make it small
For this post, doing the easy thing meant focusing on writing ANYTHING instead of focusing on writing something good. I didn’t have to be profound or comprehensive, and I didn’t have to have some actionable conclusion, I could just write about how things are for me today – fitness-wise, mental health-wise, or wellness-wise.
And making it small meant that I didn’t have to write an essay, I could write a paragraph, I could post a photo, I could write a list.
So I did!
Here are three things that are making me happy today and that have the potential to bring me happiness in the longer-term, too.
1) Usually, Khalee and I walk by ourselves in the afternoon but a few times over the past week, thanks to the good weather and brighter evenings, Steve and I have taken her for another short walk together after supper.
More time with my husband, more time outdoors, a bit of extra exercise, and a definite break between the different parts of my day? I love this new routine!
image description: an evening photo of Khalee, my light-haired, medium-sized dog standing on a sidewalk next to some grass. She is looking back over her shoulder towards the camera and she has her tongue stuck out. There are two shadows on the sidewalk between her and the camera because the streetlight that just came on is behind me and my husband. You can’t tell in the photo of course but I’m laughing as I take this photo because the angle of where I am holding my phone makes my shadow-head look kind of rectangular.
2) I saved this Instagram post this morning because I loved how the ideas felts and I appreciated the simple (but not easy) suggestions about how to incorporate yoga principles into daily life.
I haven’t really put this into practice yet of course but I am trying to figure out ways to remind myself to return to these ideas repeatedly so they can become part of my routine.
An imbedded post from Instagram in which @johuttonyoga is talking about small moments of yoga in their day – trying to stay present, to deal with uncertainty, and to live yoga principles in a way that is more being than doing.
3) I’m reading Anne-Laure Le Cunff’s book Tiny Experiments: How to live freely in a goal-obsessed world and, so far at least, it’s a marvellous match for how my ADHD brain likes to get things done. I’ll be writing more about it when I’m finished reading but I wanted you to know about it in the meantime.
Yes, I did think it was funny to take a photo of my (e)book with this post in the background. Gotta find your fun wherever you can, right? Image description: a photo of the ebook cover of Tiny Experiments on my Kobo ereader. The device is propped up in front of my monitor on my desk and this post is displayed on screen. On the lower left of the monitor is a white piece of paper with text reading ‘Own Your Time’ and on the right is a sticker with a human skull and text reading ‘Pick Your Poison’ both of which are notes-to-self reminding me to choose how to spend my time instead of just letting it gallop along. My reading glasses are on the desk on the left.
Breakaway Femmes comes to Canadian cinemas in April.
Demand Film is presenting theatrical screenings of Breakaway Femmes in Cineplex cinemas across Canada on Monday, April 7. Tickets are only available at demand.film. For each screening to proceed a minimum number of tickets need to be reserved in advance at each location by March 27.
So order your tickets now!
Here’s the trailer:
From Canadian Cycling Magazine: “For six years in the 1980s, the Tour de France included a women’s race alongside the men’s: the Tour de France Féminin. It gave women cyclists the chance to compete on the same roads, face the same iconic climbs, and ride in front of the same crowds. Despite delivering dramatic victories, intense rivalries, and remarkable displays of endurance, the women faced constant challenges—including financial struggles, injuries, discrimination, and the growing influence of doping in the sport.
Yet through it all, they built something more lasting than trophies: a deep sense of camaraderie. Now, more than 30 years later, these women reflect on their time at the pinnacle of professional cycling in a new film. Their stories shed led on what their experiences mean for the next generation of female athletes. That’s what the film, Breakaway Femmes dives on into.”
Capsized is a documentary film about Emily Kynaston-Williams, co-founder of Every Body Outdoors, and her friend Lisa, who embark on a canoe adventure in the Isle of Lewis. One focus of the film is the challenge of finding size-inclusive outdoor gear and promoting adventure for all.
The film follows Emily and Lisa as they navigate the lochs of the Isle of Lewis, with a focus on Emily’s unconventional adventure dreams, including dragging a canoe across a bog.
From the film description:
“Some people dream of summiting the highest peaks, of visiting a remote island, of being the fastest to navigate a route. But not Emily. Emily dreams of esoteric adventure, and of dragging a canoe across a bog. Enlisting her friend Lisa to join her, the pair set off to the Isle of Lewis, to navigate its intricate system of lochs. But before any trip comes the prep, and part of that means finding the right kit. For Emily, this can be a tough adventure in and of itself. When outdoor shops only stock technical clothing up to a size 16, how is adventure possible for the 45% of women in the UK who wear larger sizes?”
