Daddy needs a new pair of shoes

Well, “needs” might be a bit strong, but “wants” definitely applied when my sweetie and I stopped at Performance on Sunday (sorry Butch!). Actually I have been in the market for a new pair of cycling shoes for awhile since the distinctive yellow Time shoes I’ve been wearing for several years have been looking a bit long in the tooth for some time.

People who know me will probably agree that I can be a bit frugal and it takes awhile to pull the trigger on a major purchase (for me new shoes fall into that category). I wasn’t planning to buy anything during our little shopping excursion but shortly after entering the store I spotted the Shimano R160 cycling shoes which were marked down from $219.99 to $124.00. On top of that my sweetie had a 15% off coupon that she agreed to share with me! After trying on these shoes and liking the look and the fit, I walked out the door with a nice pair of carbon soled cycling shoes for about $105.00. Bingo!

So I began thinking about the different pairs of cycling shoes I have worn since I began riding in my school days (I still have every pair of cycling shoes I have ever owned). The first shoes I bought were a pair of Detto Piettro Art 74’s that I ordered from the Bike Nashbar catalog sometime around 1982 for about $29.00. I recall that I also needed to order a pair of Nashbar’s “knock off” Campy pedals with Christophe toe straps and some aluminum toe clips. After figuring out the position of the cleats I was off on my bike, feeling like a true cyclist. During this ride I fell over at a stop light when I couldn’t loosen the toe straps in time to pull my feet out. Injuring nothing other than my pride, I pressed on and soon became comfortable in my stylish new Italian cycling shoes.

As so often happens in cycling, technology took a step forward with the advent of clipless pedals in the mid 80’s. I resisted this latest development as long as I could until a few years later when Gerry Fornes posted a small ad in the FBCI newsletter stating he was selling off some of his copious extra cycling gear. Listed in his add were a pair of new Time pedals he won in a race so they were being sold pretty cheap (my kind of deal!). I recall being interested in the Time pedals because at that time they had more float than the Looks and they would be easier on my knees. Since these pedals did not fit my Detto’s I was off to the old Nashbar Outlet store in Arlington where I picked up some Sidi’s (on sale!) that worked with these pedals when a thick plastic adapter plate was bolted to the sole. As a bonus the Sidi’s sported velcro strips which were much easier to use than the laces on my Detto’s. No more falling over at stop signs for me!

The Sidi’s served me well for over 10 years before they started showing signs of age. In the late 90’s Brother Jeff told me about a website in the UK that was offering Time shoes (in that fashionable yellow color) for a very attractive price since, at that time, the US dollar was strong against the British Pound. I guess I didn’t really need a new pair of shoes but it would be nice to get away from those bulky adapter plates.

So for about 10 more years those distinctive yellow Time shoes were my constant cycling companion through hill and valley, sun and rain and occasional snow. The Time’s are probably the first pair of shoes I have replaced before they were worn out or rendered obsolete. But these new Shimano’s felt right and I’m sure they will enjoy an equally long life (as long as pedal technology doesn’t change any time soon).

I guess a lot of cycling gear is replaced before it is truly worn out as we become seduced by the latest style, color or gram saving widget being used by the pros in Europe. But four pairs of cycling shoes in 27 years isn’t too bad, is it?