Week 3: Mayoral Challenge Debate Topic

We are entering the third week of our Mayoral Challenge.  Once again, I have the honor, of choosing the debate topic for our weekly challenge.

WEEK 3 Challenge

BUY NEW CYCLING SHOES!

Background
"What a strange challenge," you are thinking. "Both competitors have been riding their bikes. Why would they need cycling shoes?"

I don't actually need cycling shoes. I thought I needed cycling shoes, because my toes were getting pinched in the front, but in reality what I needed was to remove my Superfeet insoles from my cycling shoes. Once I took out that extra volume, my shoes are fine. Not perfect, but serviceable.

The Mayor, on the other foot, broke his shoes on RAGBRAI. "But that was 3 months ago," you are thinking.

No, dear reader, RAGBRAI 2010. That was 15 months ago.

One fine RAGBRAI afternoon, the Mayor let out a little yelp of surprise when he discovered that the sole of his shoe had snapped. Then, he proceeded to complain about how his feet hurt. Of course, we were sympathetic. While it is possible to buy cycling shoes on RAGBRAI, it is not ideal, and the Mayor's efforts to keep pedaling through the pain were admirable. That was then, this is now.

One would think that over the course of a the year that covers the long, depressing span from one RAGBRAI to the next RAGBRAI, a person is a sound financial state, who loves to ride bikes, and who lives in one of the most cyclist friendly metropolitan areas in the country would be able to buy a pair of cycling shoes that were not completely broken. Nope.

Instead, he rides his bike, gets off, then says, "damn, my feet hurt."

 

 

 

Look how sad the Mayor is.

 

 

 

 

Look at these crazy old shoes!

Then he says, "I really need to get a new pair of shoes." 

Then, he never gets those new shoes. 

I get it.  He got those shoes for a steal.  It's a pain to buy new shoes.  And, you never think about it until you are on the bike.  But, for the cost of these shoes, the average annual cost is like -75 cents.  Nike owes the Mayor for these shoes they are so old.

Here's the challenge for the Week 3 Mayoral Debate: Buy new cycling shoes, Mayor!  They don't need to arrive, especially if they are ordered over the interweb, but they need to be purchased.  Money needs to exchange hands for the debate to be valid. 

As I am not in need of cycling shoes, I will buy a heart rate monitor instead. 

Let the best shopper win.