Shining the SIDI

There is no denying that I am rough on my equipment. I ride it hard and put it away wet. The problem is that I'm not made of money so I'm not able to replace stuff as quickly as I wear it out. For this reason most of my equipment is in a fragile state of being nearly broken, but still usable.

Take my shoes for instance. I've been riding these shoes for nearly three years and have gone through four pair of pedals and the same number of cleats, but I've given these fine shoes zero attention since I purchased them.

Matter of fact, the buckle on my left shoe has been broken since mid summer. meaning I rode half of the Winter Park Series and the 24 Hours of Moab in shoes that still worked, but barely.

This evening I was pretty bored and I opted to give my shoes the attention they deserve. I got online and ordered a set of new buckles and straps. Those will be shipping shortly, but in the meantime I opted to give the old leather a nice polish.

I gotta say, once the new buckles and straps are put on the shoe it will be hard to tell that I've had these shoes for 3 years. I wish all my equipment was so easy to maintain...

Two old shoes, a can of polish, and an evening with nothing better to do.

A little elbow grease and these are already looking better.

I think I'm going to have to make this a habit.. A few more shines and I'll be styling! Look for me on the trail. I'll be the guy with the shiny shoes hauling ass down the mountain...