BikerChick, I get what you're saying about being 165 lbs of pure muscle.
Before I went into the Army, I weighed about 130. When I left boot camp, weighed 140. Yet, everyone at home said how skinny they thought I was, (especially in the face, I heard a lot). Through the next 10 years in the Guard I struggled to keep my weight under 137 (the requirement for my age/height), even though I was wearing a size 7-8.

I'm convinced I have large (heavy) muscles by nature. I was definitely ripped after boot camp, but still heavy for 5'4". I've always called my legs speedskater legs, even at my lightest...those large upper thighs and thick calves. Can't tell now because they're covered in fat! However, I'll never be tiny. I'll probably never be a size 8 again, but I'd be happy with a 12, which I can buy off the rack. People still don't believe that I weigh 198, because I'm compact, not roll-y. (But I'm not fooling myself...I'm still fat and need to get it off before menopause.)

I got my first pair of bike shorts yesterday in the mail. The Mystic Elite MTB shorts mentioned earlier. They fit fine in XL, but the Belwether jersey I bought in XL is too small in the boobs and feels too tight for comfort in the arms. I'm disappointed in that because I'm smaller on top than on bottom. Manufacturers should settle on a standard size, I think. But, I'll keep the jersey because it will fit in a couple of months.

That would be an interesting thread for us Athenas: what is your weight and your general clothing size? I know a woman or two who are my weight, but wear much larger clothes. I know weight is not the only factor--my baby belly overlap affects my clothing size, and I can wear size Large t-shirts and they fit fine (not Jerseys, though).

Anyway...if anyone wants to answer, I'd like to know so we can see what I expect is a huge diversity of weight to size.

Karen