How many posts? A big month — 40+ posts across 30 days, making April one of the busier months of the year so far.
Who blogged? A wide cast: Sam, Tracy, Diane, Nicole, Christine, Nat, Catherine, Cate, Mina, Martha, Elan and Mallory, as well as some guests.
April’s big throughlines:
#30DaysOfBiking ran the whole month. Sam documented the challenge from start to finish — opening with a Zwift ride when April showed up with snow, fat biking at the farm in Prince Edward County for Easter, taking new routes as part of her “New Path Protocol” intention, and closing it out on April 30 with a bike ride to the gym and the monthly Guelph Girls Gays & Theys Bike Club meet-up. The challenge gave the month a narrative spine.
New skills and beginner’s mind. This was a genuinely joyful thread. Sam and Sarah took skating lessons — she wrote about their first lesson and the second, honestly chronicling the nerves, the stickers on her helmet, the slow progress, and the grace of their instructor. Tracy spent the whole month working through C25K with a deliberate beginners’ mind, writing a beautiful mindful update about forcing herself not to skip ahead or compare to past performance. Mallory wrote about discovering queer indoor beach volleyball and her team the Raisins (“Raisin Hell”). All three were about giving yourself permission to be new at something.
Spring — finally, tentatively, then really. Diane opened the month cautiously with “Goodbye Winter? Maybe, Hopefully” after snow as late as March 28. Christine did patio yoga in front of snowshovels and loved it. Catherine started sharing her weekly tulip CSA bouquets. By mid-month, spring had landed.
Diane’s health arc. Diane had an unusually eventful April on the blog. She wrote about her pool finally reopening after renovations, then about cycling and dementia research, then “Last swim for a while” (April 23), and then on April 30 she posted “Every Step Counts” — writing from the hospital, walking 140 metres with a physiotherapist and counting it as a win. It’s a striking arc: from celebrating community at the pool to rebuilding movement one slow step at a time.
Aging, identity, and resistance. Mina’s “No Surrender” — about approaching 60, running a half marathon every month, and resisting passive acceptance of aging — was one of the top-read posts of the month. Nicole’s “Musings about Menopausal Diet Culture” was another standout: personal, sharp, and resonant. Catherine launched a new monthly Research Roundup column, examining fitness science with appropriate skepticism and wit (including mice on tiny treadmills and the thick thighs science).
Community and friendship. Nat’s Saturday posts — “What Buoys Nat When Navigating Mid-Life Chaos” and “Nat Gets By with a Little Help from Her Friends” — focused on social connection as a wellness strategy and the uneven gendered labour of maintaining it.
The Boston Marathon / Nike moment. Catherine wrote about the Nike “Runners Welcome. Walkers Tolerated” controversy — and the Altra counter-ad — in a post that got good engagement. Typical Catherine: warm, pointed, and quoting the Wellesley scream tunnel.
Top Ten posts of the month (per Sam’s April 30 roundup): Diane’s “Last Swim for a While” topped the list, followed by Nicole on menopausal diet culture, Mina’s “No Surrender,” Tracy’s C25K launch post, Nat’s two mid-life chaos/friends posts, Nicole on fitness prescriptions, Diane on Maintenance Phase, Sam and Sarah’s skating lesson, and the guest post “The Origins of My Surprising Fitness Journey.”
It was a month where the blog felt genuinely alive — a wide pool of writers, a clear seasonal energy, some real personal stakes (Diane’s health, Tracy’s running comeback, Sam’s skating and biking), and a theme of people giving themselves permission to try things badly and keep going anyway.
Thanks Claude for the blog’s month in review.
