So, I told you I was going to blog my way through the winter on my bicycle…

Lesson number 1: Don’t wear bicycling shoes when it’s below 30 degrees!

Let me tell you a story. Last week, on Thursday, I had a meeting with someone from a church about 7 miles away. I normally don’t where bicycling specific shoes to run around town. They are kind of hard to walk in, and really just aren’t worth the trouble unless you are going to be riding more than about 5 miles. So, I packed my normal shoes in a bag, put on my bicycling shoes, and off I went.

Mind you, bicycle shoes are designed to breathe. They pass air through very easily, so that your feet don’t sweat. On my shoes, the entire top of the shoe is mesh, a very thin mesh. It was about 30 degrees outside, and I was pedaling into the wind, averaging 15 miles per hour.

I thought my feet were going to fall off! They were so cold, they felt like bricks of ice attached to the end of my leg. I actually stopped several times, unclipped my shoes from my bike and sat on the ground on the side of the road rubbing warmth back into my feet. Needless to say, I left my normal shoes on for the return trip.

Well, this led me to do a little research on what to do about shoes in the cold weather. And, I found a fantastic company that may have solved not only my shoe dilemma, but also my rain gear problem.

Shower’s Pass. They make all kinds of bad weather/cold weather gear, and it seems to be some of the best stuff available, albeit a little pricey.

My biggest two complaints are 1) the shoe covers are only available in burgundy, navy and olive. I really wish there was a black option. That would seem like a more universal color, if they are only going to offer a small selection of colors.

And, more importantly (warning: Geek rant!), 2) they use flash on their website…I hate flash. It typically loads more slowly than standards based markup, and it absolutely doesn’t work on my phone. Besides, I can’t use a screen reader on it (which I do frequently).

OK, I’m done doing my geeky little rant, back to the shoe covers. I’ve ordered a pair of shoe covers, and I’ll report back and let you know how they work!