Here in most parts of Southern California we don't get too many truly cold days. Sunny, 70 degree days in January are rather normal. But short winter days mean a lot of night riding and I've always had trouble keeping my feet warm. There have even been nights that have been reasonably nice, yet my feet still have gotten cold. I realized things were slightly better in my old casual shoes with laces -
But those only helped a little. So I researched and found bike companies actually make shoes for riding in cold weather. I guess that should have been obvious.
Shimano is a brand I trust so I looked at their shoes and then went to Don's to see if they could get them for me. Ben called the Shimano rep and I can hear him say, "Oh really, oh, ok" so then Ben tells me, "yeah, they have them, but these are full on Gore-tex shoes made for riding in places like Minnesota. The rep says he hasn't sold any in Socal in a couple of years." I tell him that's perfect, that's what I want. So a few days go by and the shoes come in.
It was unseasonably warm for the first few weeks I had them so I didn't get to test them initially. Finally the weather cooled and I've been using them off and on now for about 3 months. They have been everything I could have wanted. On nights when I normally would have gotten cold and numb feet, my feet were fine. Didn't even notice the cold. I've even worn them in 70 degree weather and my feet did not get too warm.
The other night was the first real test. Temps dropped and according to my Garmin it got down to 41 degrees on my ride. People on most parts of the country probably don't consider that cold, but that's about as cold as it gets in most parts of Socal and it's a temperature that would normally give me some real foot problems with numbness. I was wearing normal socks with these shoes and they protected my feet and kept them feeling normal. Not the slightest feeling of cold.
I have yet to use these in water to see how waterproof they are, but I imagine they're at least better than any other shoe I have. This was money well spent and I'm grateful to have found them. It's especially nice knowing they won't make my feet too hot so if I take off on a cold morning I don't have to worry about things heating up and my feet getting too hot. So if cold feet get to you, or if you live in the local mountains where it truly can get cold, then these are probably worth getting. Stop by Don's and ask Ben to order you a pair.
(posted by Jeff Stanners)
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