New Shoes

On Wednesday I finally got round to getting some proper cycling shoes. I have been meaning to do this for a while. The trainers I have been using have been fairly comfortable but I did used to get sore balls of my feet after a long cycle and my socks tended to bunch up around my toes which was uncomfortable (I also now have some proper cycling socks as well).

I got some Shimano mountain bike shoes. I got the mountain bike shoes as they are easier to walk in when you are not cycling. I also got pedals that have the SPD clips on one side and are normal pedals on the other side.

The shoes felt really comfortable in the shop and I was really looking forward to trying them out properly.

My first ride with the shoes was a bit odd. I was setting off from a part of London that I didn’t know so I got lost. This meant lots of stopping and starting – not very easy when you are getting used to clipping in and out.
The ride home felt odd. I didn’t feel I could get any power through the pedals at higher cadences. I also felt like my toes should point out more.

When I got home I adjusted the cleats so that I was more toe out. On the ride in on Thursday morning the adjustment definitely helped and felt a lot better. For the first few miles it still felt odd but after that it just seemed to click and it felt fantastic!

I can really feel how much these shoes are going to help me. At the moment my legs are feeling more tired than usual as my muscles get used to being used in a slightly different way. When I get used to it though I think that it’s really going to help.

I am getting better at clipping in. Quite a lot of the time my foot just finds the right place by itself and I hear the click as I apply power. Sometime though when I don’t get it first time it can take a long time to get clipped in. As the pedals only have clips on one side sometimes I am trying to clip in on the wrong side as well but this doesn’t happen very often.

I’m glad I’ve finally bitten the bullet and have gone for these.