My Bike Is My Car

These are new. It still hasn’t rained in the Bay Area (we’ve had one rain, for just a few hours, since May), so I’ll be posting again on how these sandals are once the weather changes. So far, I’ve ridden home in some pretty cold temps–low-50s– with wool socks and felt just fine. The sandals adjust nicely to different thickness of socks– and I have both extremes; ultra-thin and super-thick.

One surprise: I should have thought twice about the waterproof material because without socks on these sandals feel terriblly clammy and uncomfortable after a 45 minute ride: the moisture just doesn’t go away! This has been the one big disappointment, to realize that I can’t wear these sandals without socks in warmer weather– unless I’m ready to take them off as soon as I get off the bike, or put on socks. That’s the drawback to anything “waterproof” and the main reason I avoid clothing labeled as such and much prefer “water resistant”. Okay, I mainly got the sandals for riding in wet conditions so I wouldn’t have to worry about drying out wet shoes at work. But I was looking forward to the “free feet” summer riding without socks. Pity. I could have purchased a different, non-waterproof SPD-compatible sandal (Shimano, Nashbar, and Lake all make them), but none of them have a closed-toe which is something I definitely wanted for fear of injury.