Labor Day Weekend Rides

[tzvia]

When we got home my feet were hurting for 15 minutes after I stopped.
So, first we thought it was the pitiful liners that came in the shoes, as compared to DH's. Mine are the top of the line women's mtb shoe Shimano makes. They don't make the ones DH bought for women. His shoes have a rigid, thicker liner.
But, that wasn't the culprit, although it is part of it. When looking, under the liner, DH found the screws from the cleats pushing up throughout he bottom of the shoe. No wonder my feet hurt! There's 2 screws pushing up against the sole of the shoe! That, plus the crappy liner made me feel it. So, back to the shop I went. The screws are just too long, but they are the ones you have to use with the cleats. Problem was solved by the mechanic cutting them down and then DH just applied epoxy over the plate where the screws are.
I am going to write to Shimano. The LBS owner stated clearly companies do this, because they don't think women will pay the $ to buy the shoes with the more expensive liner. I am betting there are people riding around in pain... Speedplay clearly states these pedals are compatible with Shimano shoes.

Oh man, you are sooo right. When I went looking for new Shimano MTB shoes late last year (the Shimano shoes fit my feet well with the wider toebox compared to SIDI), none of their 'WSD' shoes were anywhere as nice as the mens shoes. So I tried on a pair of Shimano mens shoes, a carbon soled, heat moldable model, and fell in love. They don't make that in WSD, what gives? I bought them, and had them vacuum molded to my feet. Heaven. Plus the women's shoes were white. A white MTB shoe. My last pair of white mtb shoes looked like crap in a week. What are they thinking.

On my road shoes, I have to thank Specialized for realizing that women want good shoes. I bought their 'Pro' model earlier this year, and it is a top notch shoe. Ok, it's white, but this is a road shoe and I am good with it. They came with their good insoles and are well made. I don't find the straps on their MTB shoes comfortable (too narrow and the anchor for the ratchet pressures a bone) or I would have bought them.

As for your cleat/screw issue, that's weird. Usually MTB soles are thicker than road soles and the screws should fit...

You can get really nice footbeds from Louis Garneau (heat moldable) and Specialized (different amounts of varus wedge) and others, for your shoes. I used the Louis Garneau ones on my previous WSD Shimano MTB shoes; they were easy to mold to my feet

[Biciclista]

I have the red SIDI dominator MTB shoes. I love them. I don't know what I will do when I need new ones; I sure don't want blue and WHITE would be gross.. and black is so... black.

[tzvia]

Four days off and I finally get a chance to ride. Yesterday, some food attacked me, oh I was sick. By last night I started feeling better and the fluids were staying in- so I tried to rehydrate some for today and did a 2 hr MTB ride in Agoura Hills. There were lots of MTBers and hikers so I was not expecting to see any wildlife larger than a bee, but as I stopped to rest a moment and drink- I looked up to see 3 deer staring at me from maybe 25 yards away. It took a moment to register as I was not expecting it. Two does and a big male- next to a downed tree. I just stared at them for a moment, then decided to get going again. When I got back on the bike, they spooked but only ran maybe 10 yards and one of the does stopped under a tree. OK, I should take a picture (boy, you are slow today Tzvia). So I get the phone out of my pack, and take one quick shot as the doe is skiddish, but the camera is set for deep shade as I last used it in deep shade. Ok the picture sucks, so I quickly change the setting but the deer are gone... Sigh. Usually I only see crows, rabbits, rattlers and bugs, and never saw a big male deer with full headgear before in these hills.


See I told you the picture sucked.