It's all in the shoes.

Wow. It's been awhile. Too long, and I would like to give some long explanation on why I haven't been writing lately but well, does it really matter? All I'll say is the normal 'mid-season suck' of shop life really took a lot out of me this year and needless to say I just wasn't up for writing and trust me, I had/have things to write about so hopefully it'll be a good few weeks of content.

This past weekend, we had another KOTS Urban MTB race downtown and it went off great and I can't say how much credit goes to Ben for putting this whole series together. I bring this up to say that earlier in the day, I stumbled onto an old pair of Pumas that I've had for a few years and rocked them. Now, I'm a shoe guy. Not a surprise to some of you, but if there is one piece of clothing that I'm always tempted to buy it's that... From Chucks to cycling shoes to the flippy floppies... I have learned to contain the urge of buying them in the recent years but when I found these I put them on it dawned on me...


... I'm a hipster.

Yep, I said it. Although I don't fall into all the 'classic' categories of what makes a hipster a hipster [i.e. I don't try hard to look like I didn't try at all, or check out this video on the Hipster Olympics], it is getting harder and harder to deny it. Over the course of this summer I could probably count on one hand the number of times I have worn shorts, instead my Man-pre collection has grown and I am now unable to deny the fact that they are more comfortable to me than shorts. Yes, this is very strange and by no means can I say that it is at any level right. I fully believe when I am older, I will look back and wonder what the heck I was thinking.

But in all seriousness, what really dawned on me, or actually what was reaffirmed what most already know... their are certain shoes/equipment that just plain work better for the different aspects of cycling. From the roadie who has to always rock the lyrica and must have his sunglasses on the outside of his helmet straps to the downhill mountain biker rocking all the armor topped with a full face helmet to the fixie hipster with the well... eye on 'fashion'. There are plenty of other stereotypes in cycling and we all fall in to some of the categories from time to time but the one thing that we must never forget what we all have in common:

We all love these two wheeled machines.

So ride your fixie, your BMX bike, your rusty commuter, or road bike and remember to give that nod of appreciation and respect to your fellow rider when your paths cross...