Categories: IrreverenceKitMusings from the V-Bunker

The Punter

Socks over the booties? Please say it ain't so.

They say you can measure the quality of a man’s character by his ability to admit when he’s wrong. That in itself seems wrong, since it would obviously be better to be right in the first place, but I’m probably missing the point because I’m Dutch and everyone knows Dutch people are 97% more righter 84% of the time than the rest of the world.

I must confess to a certain hubris when it comes to kitting up for a ride; I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I’ve gotten accustomed to making good decisions about what to wear and how to wear it. But today I strayed from the path: my socks were carefully and deliberately pulled out over the tops of my overshoes. Not only is it the most concrete evidence that my socks are too long, it looked like I had two orange gaskets stuck to my ankles. Not to mention that this resulted in only a tiny amount of my shins being exposed between my knee warmers and socks.

Sometimes we must stray from the Path in order to understand where it lies; today I have wandered far indeed but have found my way back. Do not lose faith and always seek to return to the Path.

VLVV.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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View Comments

chuckp says:

Dec 2 2015 at 9:55 am

@Matt

It sounds like I’m in the minority here, but having my feet covered keeps me far warmer than having my legs covered. Arm warmers, a gilet, and booties have been sufficient in my experience. My knees and shins are probably the last thing to get cold.

I was originally unsure, but I think booties look fine sans knee warmers. Never without arm warmers though.

My feet get cold pretty easily too. So I'm apt to wear shoe covers/booties in temps where my riding companions wouldn't (or where they'd be fine with toe warmers, which I don't have because they just don't work for me). With or without knee warmers depends on how cold/windy. Definitely never without arm warmers or long-sleeve jersey. Wind vest/gilet if it's windy.

My booties are 20 year old Pearl Izumis that are decidedly low tech by today's standards. Basically a neoprene-like material with a fleece lining. Not windproof at all. And, to be honest, not terribly warm once the temp drops into the low 40s. My wife (who works for an LBS) is bringing home a new pair of Pearl Izumi Pro Barrier WXB shoe covers for me today. I know it may offend some sensibilities, but I opted for the screaming yellow (instead of basic black) version. Just wanted something with higher viz.
Steampunk says:

Dec 2 2015 at 9:55 am

@Haldy & @frank:

After all that, I failed to notice the absence of booties in the second shot! I figured that Bauer's helmet was just washed out in the B&W pic. I was also impressed that Kelly had reeled in Bauer so quickly. Nevertheless, titans, both.

1986 RVV is another one of Bauer's near misses. He was the first on the Koppenberg and soloed away from Kelly thereafter, only to lose his legs in the finishing stretch and finish fourth. The first pic above is from 1987, I assume. Bauer finished fourth again.
bea says:

Dec 2 2015 at 10:24 am

@Mike C

If my feet are cold, it’s cold enough to wrap up the guns with them, top to bottom. Why leave a patch of exposed skin? Same with the hands. We don’t wear 3/4 length sleeves on chilly days and expose the lower part of our forearms now do we? It would just look silly.

My belief is,

It’s either cold,

Or it isn’t!

BTW,

Toe warmers worn under the booties work very well

@Ron

Have any of your questioning oversocks or knee warmers every actually said to yourself, “Damn, my shins are cold?” My shins are essentially skinny bones with a light veneer of pale pink covered, not much to freeze. Until it goes below zero, I go for Kneekers over full leg warmers when road riding.

Completely agree, I've never complained about cold shins (or cold knees for that matter). Cold toes on the other hand... So I cycle until quite cold in shorts and then just switch to long cycling pants, but long before that I put shoe covers on. They keep my toes (a tiny bit) warm, my feet (a tiny bit) longer dry and best of all, they keep my shoes clean.

However, my socks never stick out...

Anybody a suggestion on how to keep toes warm? They just plain hurt sometimes...
chuckp says:

Dec 2 2015 at 10:39 am

@bea

However, my socks never stick out…Anybody a suggestion on how to keep toes warm? They just plain hurt sometimes…

1. My socks are all taller than my booties so they stick out. Like I said before, I'm a Philistine.

2. Try toe or foot warmers. Can be found in "outdoor" stores, ski shops, or even in drug stores. They don't really "warm up" to where you can feel actual "heat," but they seem to help keep your toes/feet at near body temperature. I've even put hand warmers in my gloves. They work pretty well for me for the few times I want to venture out when the temps fall into the 30s.
Oreos says:

Dec 2 2015 at 10:39 am

@bea Tin foil in the shoes. I basically make my own toe things like the Castelli ones but inside the shoe.
Bill says:

Dec 2 2015 at 10:39 am

I applaud you for the decision to ride and kit be danged. The person and the bike are the important parts. The rest is just gravy. Granted gravy is nice but still just gravy.
wiscot says:

Dec 2 2015 at 10:50 am

@Haldy

@frank

@Steampunk

@RobSandy

The booties only obscure some of that magnificence.

Here’s a Graham Watson pic from a couple of seconds earlier. Smaller, but in colour:

Different year; Kelly is not wearing overshoes, and Bauer does not have a cop over his hairnet, and Vanderaerden is without cap in first but with in second.

That is a staggeringly similar composition, though.

Well…it’s not even Vanderaerden in the first pic….

In the first pic I think the Panasonic rider is Johan Van de Velde. Francis Castaing is the Peugeot rider on the stones and Guido Bontempi of Carerra is giving him the "thanks a lot, ya wee French fucker. How the fuck am I supposed to get going now?" glare.
chuckp says:

Dec 2 2015 at 10:53 am

@bea

Anybody a suggestion on how to keep toes warm? They just plain hurt sometimes…

I recently used these foot warmers and they really helped to keep my feet/toes warm. You just stick them on the bottom of your socks. Surprisingly thin so they don't add any real bulk so my feet didn't feel like they were jammed in my shoes. You can also get ones that are just for your toes if you don't want a full foot warmers. Not much price difference between them though.
wiscot says:

Dec 2 2015 at 11:35 am

Oversocks are great. I have a bunch of shoe covers of every kind from lycra to fleece-lined neoprene. However, if sleeves are short = no oversocks. If shorts are worn = no oversocks. With knee warmers? Yes. With leg warmers? Yes. Kelly rarely wore overshoes. Most of the time it was just another pair of socks pulled over the shoes. That pic of him with the blue overshoes is just . . . weird. Maybe another Brancale helmet-type deal.

Pretty sure it's Van Der Velde in the B&W pic. He finished 19th. It's not Vanderaerden (10th). It's not Lubberding (28th) or Lammertink or Plankaert (35th and 36th).
Mike C says:

Dec 2 2015 at 11:53 am

@Matt

It sounds like I’m in the minority here, but having my feet covered keeps me far warmer than having my legs covered. Arm warmers, a gilet, and booties have been sufficient in my experience. My knees and shins are probably the last thing to get cold.

I was originally unsure, but I think booties look fine sans knee warmers. Never without arm warmers though.

I'm actually with you on this one Matt. My legs are the last thing to get cold. I'm a real pussy when it comes to cold toes though.