sole searching

On my Wednesday night ride I felt something weird when I pulled up with my right foot. I thought that my cleat came loose which has happened before, but when I looked down at my shoe at a stoplight I saw that the sole of my shoe was ripping away from the rest of the shoe. I knew there was a bike shop just down the street from where I was at so I pulled in there. "Yeah you are going to need new shoes" I got from the mechanic. I was stymied. The shoes looked practically new on top, but at the moment with no funds on me, my main goal was finishing my workout and getting home. He offered to duck tape me into my shoes and and that worked for now. I headed back out to the road and had a fabulous ride, one shoe sporting it's new shiny-silver finish.

I knew that I would need new shoes for Saturday's ride without a doubt, There was no way I could ride 105 with my shoe duck taped mostly because it stopped the air flow to my foot. So the pressure was on for a new pair. Now, normally I like to take my time and research these things before making a purchase, but I was going to have to rely on the trusty tri shop guys to guide me. I was in there an hour before I finally settled on my lilly white Louis Garneau shoes, I know you should wait until after Memorial day for white shoes, but I can tell you I'm sure they will be black by the time Labor Day rolls around. The pedals on my bike are so old that I've had trouble finding adapters and so I knew I was going to have to buy pedals as well.

Saturday was the tell-tale day for my new shoes and pedals and I was anxious to see if the bike rode any different although a 105 mile test ride was not my ideal. My shoes clipped in incredibly easy and felt lighter. One problem though was the cleat on my left foot as it kept popping out as I rode. Better to discover these things now then at a race I guess.

The Armadillo Hill Country ride started out cooler and cloudier than originally thought. I started about 15 minutes after the start getting all I needed together. It was a great ride by snakes, longhorns, cows, goats, donkeys, horses (that ran up to the fence and ran with me a little!), dead armadillos, and countless birds. I had a lot of highs and lows on the ride at times feeling invincible and great and at others, tired of my seat, tired of the heat and headache throbbing. You constantly have to evaluate yourself (am I hungry, thirsty, how does this feel, etc.). At the end of the ride I was ready to be off my bike and HOT (at this point the temp was hovering around 100), but made it through and felt good on the whole for an enjoyable ride.