This thread cracks me up! (no pun intended!)
The first time I saw a photo of me on my bike, I was horrified. I think I'd convinced myself that all the biking I was doing had magically transformed my short, muscular 'stocky' body into some TdF lean machine. Duh. Of course not!
In fact, I'd say that I look better in bike shorts than I do in regular pants and jeans! Bike shorts show muscle...pants and jeans just show size.
I remember one time riding with a friend of mine who was new to biking. My H and I took her under our wing and helped her learn the group riding thing. She was thin and fairly athletic, but built totally different from me. She was my height, but probably wore a size 4 jean while I wore an 8 or a 10. After one of the rides, I asked my H if I looked anything like her from behind. He said "Oh god no...your rear is WAY tighter...you look 100% more fit than she does!". Here I thought I was too large and all the time, he was noticing how flabby she was in comparison to me. No wonder I love this guy!
Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder!