Happy Feet

There are some small things that make all the difference. On some days you can keep your fancy carbon bits, and engineered and over designed things, because what’s going to make the difference between a nice ride and a bad one is your socks.

This is especially true in winter, where keeping your toes warm and dry is the key to getting home smiling. Granted, any sock is work having, and no-one should follow the triathlon line of bare feet in cycling shoes, even if your outfit for riding to work is skin tight and high cut at the legs, but a good sock is an investment in your future.

I’m coming from this after what seems like a lifetime of riding in the wet and cold and ice where my feet and ankles have survived thanks to a combination of different socks. (I like to give any sock a good testing by seeing how well it keeps me warm even when the rest of my legs are freezing in shorts in the cold). But it also holds true out in the wilderness (or the local woods) where surviving the annoyance of putting a foot down in a puddle or stream generally means making it to the cake shop rather than turning back early to the car park. Anything that gets you to eating cake is a good thing.

This year my two big recommendations are the classic Seal Skinz waterproof socks for turning your racy cycling shoes into the equivalent of wellingtons, and even keeping any water that runs down inside warm and soothing around your feet, and Pearl Izumi’s excellent range of cycling socks. My all time winner so far has been a merino wool sock which is warm enough to hold off a the snow and dries faster than a fast drying thing. If only I could work out Pearl Izuni’s slightly odd sizing, as they all don’t seem to match.

Good socks alone won’t keep you warm all the way home – even if you attach them to all possible parts of your body, but they will definitely give you happy feet. And that’s really all you want them to do.

Lastly living in London makes you forget that there are places where a stolen mountain bike and a missing dog are worthy of BBC news coverage. If only that was the case in more places then everyone might be less scared of losing their bikes in the city.

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