Cool-proofing your shoes

Where I live in Davis, California, the biggest problem during the winter riding season isn't so much snow or rain. For a long time, I just had a terrible problem keeping my feet warm. And, that was in spite of the fact that I'd wear two layers of shoe covers along with thicker socks.

What I discovered last year is that a lot of cold air comes in from vents and holes on the underside of my shoes.

In the above picture, I have a different style cleat and it shows all the holes under the shoe including 3 extra holes I drilled to move my Look cleat back half an inch. You can also see the shoe vents. There are two slits just in front of the cleat attachment area and another two just behind. These vents are great on hot summer days. But, during winter months in Davis, they just let too much cool air in.

I suppose you could just caulk the vents and holes shut for the winter and then remove the caulking with a small screwdriver in the spring. I haven't tried that but I am sure it would work ok. On the other hand, caulking doesn't provide much in the way of insulation and its a bit of a mess to remove.

What I do is cut up one or two of my wife's makeup sponges, like the ones pictured here,

and then stuff the pieces into the various holes. Of course, my wife prefers that I take one of her used sponges instead of wasting a perfectly clean one ;)

Now, the sponges won't stay in place without some help. So, after I seal up all the holes, I apply some shipping tape over them.

In the picture above (also showing my Look cleats -- which appear to be in need of replacement soon), you can barely make out the seams of the shipping tape covering the forward vents.

If you make sure the underside of your shoe is clean before you apply the tape, it will adhere to the shoe fine. Unless you wind up routinely getting it soaking wet, it should stay there for the whole winter season. Then, you don't have a mess of caulking to remove come springtime.

On cooler weather rides, my feet stay a lot warmer now. But, I sometimes still have to wear two layers of shoe covers.

I would have titled this post "Winterizing your cycling shoes" but lets be honest…Davis winters aren't anything like what our two-wheeled comrades in Minnesota or North Dakota have to deal with. For real winter cycling tips, I'm sure the folks in that part of the country have a lot of great ideas.