I have big feet. Most people who have read my blog for any length of time will notice this subject comes up with some frequency.
Last winter, I wore sneakers and used platform pedals. This was sub-optimal for rain because water would get into them. However, said sneakers weren’t super-breathable, so my socks wouldn’t get that wet. Come spring, I went clipless. And it turns out that my Sidi shoes are very breathable, such that if I bike through a puddle, the fender channels water directly into the toes of the shoes and into my socks. This sucked for pretty much the last big rainstorm of the season but hasn’t been a problem ever since.
I’m going for something that’s a little bit more metrosexual spandex-cowboy than putting baggies in my shoes. Some people like shoe covers. Other people point out that no shoe cover is going to get it right, so it’s better to just wear synthetic socks that dry quickly and let your shoes get wet, maybe stuffing some paper towels in them so they’ll dry faster.
However, given that I’ve got big feet, socks and shoe covers are hard to find in my size in the store. The problem is that I consider socks that are meant for people with size 6-12 feet to be too small. So, while my sneakers are size 12 US, my Sidis are size 48 European, which is just a smidgen bigger than size 12. I’ve got this image of a proper sporting goods store… or a shoe store… or something, where I might be able to examine and potentially be able to easily return if they don’t fit a few socks. But I don’t see any around, because normal people don’t have such huge feet.
So, about all I’ve been able to find in the stores has been plain old cotton socks. I’m also failing at finding shoe covers that gave me a sufficient good feeling of quality for the money in any size.
Thus, the present rain option seems to be that I will carry two pairs of socks. And probably toss them in a bag for the way home so that they don’t get water all over the inside of my Ortleib panniers.
This bugs me, so I’m looking for a better idea.