New Shoes

My new Giro Petra cycling shoes got their first test in the rain this evening. The uppers are part mesh, and let in enough water to get my socks soggy, but I'm hoping they (the shoes, I mean) will dry out fast. I'll just have to remember not to leave home without my shoe covers for the next several months. I'm pleased with the shoes so far. They're more comfortable for walking than most of my street shoes. The soles have enough tread to catch on the pedals, but the material is a bit smooth and plasticy, so my feet slip off at awkward moments, especially if it's wet; I'll probably put cleats on them soon. They fit high around the front of the ankle, so the tongue rubs a bit when I walk, but with my toes dipped down while pedaling that's not a problem.

I've always liked cute, chunky oxford-type shoes, a big style advantage for a bicyclist. When I first started commuting by bicycle, riding five miles each way, I wore Skechers or similar shoe styles. The nubby tread was enough to keep my feet on the pedals without straps or clips, and the soles weren't too thick, without the wide over-hanging heel that athletic shoes often have - the cushy heel can bump against the crank arm and knock your foot off the pedal.

Then I started riding with Team in Training, training for the 200-mile Seattle-to-Portland ride. By the time I got to the point of doing forty or fifty mile rides, the knuckles and tendons in my feet began to get sore, and I realized I needed some real cycling shoes with stiff, substantial soles.

I bought a pair of men's Shimano mountain biking shoes, which are still in pretty good shape, though the padding at the heel is worn. The men's sizing wasn't a problem, and the shoes were on sale for ten or twenty dollars less than comparable women's shoes. Six years is a long time for a pair of shoes to last, so they were a good buy, but my feet are six years older now, and don't fit in to them so well - the joints at the base of my toes have widened, making bumps like small bunions by my big and little toes. So that's my excuse for buying the Giros.

I also had a pair of women's Pearl Izumi X-Alp mountain biking shoes. I wore those without cleats, and often wore them at work, doing light warehouse work and even at my coffee shop job. They had light mesh uppers, and got drenched and saturated many times, until they began to smell so bad I threw them out. But I did get a lot of mileage out of them for two or three years.

update: The Giros were dry by morning.