Quote Originally Posted by hawatc
2. I do not consider myself vain; however, when looking at pics taken of me on the bike, I cannot help but notice I look like a mushroom...my helmet is huge. Are there any good helmets with decent ventilation out there to fit smaller heads??
What helmet are you using right now, and in what size? Have you measured your head circumference? Usually, higher end helmets are less bulky and have more vents. Or you might be using a larger size than you need.

My size medium helmet made my head look big. Then I measured myself -- I'm on the upper end of a size small. I could make the medium fit by putting in extra pads, but it still looked funny.

It's not easy to find nice helmets in size small, but I'm really glad I made the effort. I have the Giro Atmos and the Bell Sweep XC, both in small. They're much more comfortable and proportional-looking than the mediums. The Atmos is supposed to be a higher end helmet (roadies love it), and it's certainly more expensive, but I personally prefer the shape, look and feel of the Bell Sweep -- it just fits my head better. Plus I really like having the option of the Sweep XC's removeable visor. If you don't need a visor, check out the Bell Sweep R (Road version) which costs $15 less than the XC.