Shoes for riding through sprinklers and rain
 

My commute home from school is very late on some days: between 10:30 PM and midnight. At that time, the city and my apartment complex run sprinklers. I guess both organizations assume that no one will be using the MUP and the resident walk-in path so late, so they allow their sprinkers (the pop-up rotating kind) to freely spray across my path. I have not yet biked in the rain, but the same concern applies.

I don't really mind having my clothes get wet right before I get home, but I do mind getting my shoes wet. Wet shoes encourage growth of microorganisms, and that's something I want to avoid as much as possible. I use foot powder to keep my shoes dry and nice-smelling, rotate footwear to allow it to fully dry from my mild sweating during the day, etc.

My bike has normal pedals with toe clips attached, so I use my regular shoes during my commute. Is it possible to arrange my footwear situation such that I don't have to lug a second pair of shoes around while at school and I can comfortably ride through sprinklers and rain?

I might be looking for the impossible, since I want the ideal shoes to allow my feet to breathe so that sweat can evaporate, and at the same time I don't want these shoes to be affected by rain or to let my socks get wet. What do y'all do to maximize your feet's happiness during commutes?

They probably won't fit in toe clips, but I sometimes ride wearing my Croc Hydros. They seem to work as well as any other non-cycling specific shoe. They will allow your socks to get wet, but your feet will be just as happy without socks as with them in Crocs.

Depending on what kind of work you do, Crocs probably makes a model you can wear at work.

full coverage fenders = dry feet for me.

They water the MUP all the time on me. I ride around the back side of the sprinklers through the grass or wait and time my traversal of the sprinklers. Non-potable water is a little extra smelly and I simply ride around the "reclaimed" water sprinklers. yuck.

Really? I'm glad they work for you. I've got a set of race-blades and during a downpour, it's about 2-minutes before me socks are soaked. Of course where I live, it RAINS. I'd like to find better fenders but the full coverage ones won't work with my disc brakes. I have a disc cyclocross-type bike with plenty of clearance for knobbies and fenders, although I run 700x23's.

About the shoes, I keep newspaper at home and at work. When I get home from a rain ride, I hose everything down including my legs and shoes to get all the grit off. Then, I towel off, step inside and stuff the shoes full of newspaper and they're dry by morning. I use the same pair daily and don't have any hygiene issues. I use foot powder at work after the shower.

Some shoe covers will help shield the shoes but they don't go over tennies too well. The first thing I would do if I were in your "shoes" is get some cycling specific shoes. I have a pair of Specialized street/bike shoes that don't look like cycling shoes at all. They're pretty toasty, though and I have to use a MTB shoe in the summer but they're great in the fall and spring.

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crocs..worst product ever


get yerself some gore-tex hiking shoes.

My answer is a very old and raggedy pair of Vans. There are holes at the big and small toes, the ball of the foot and the heel. They breath and nothing can make them look worse. I keep good shoes at work and home.

Leather-free Tevas.

SmartWool socks if necessary. They keep feet warm even when wet.

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