Qualifying Bike Tart – Episode 5: The Shoes

I said last week this one is sure to polarise…

The Official Rules of the Euro Cyclist (OREC) state that to be ‘euro’ you must wear shoes which are at least 80% white when cycling.  Many quote similar such rules on percentages of whiteness when considering how to be ‘pro’ on a bike (on Twitter both of these words always seem to have a desperate need to be written in capital letters, which I guess is probably in the ‘rules’ somewhere too).

I subscribe to neither ‘Pro’ or ‘Euro’, and will therefore wear whatever shoes I see fit.

Qualifying as a Bike Tart doesn’t mean following ‘rules’ that all other cyclists follow.  Honestly, the number of people riding in white shoes bores me.  Where’s the individuality in that?  No, a bike tart will wear something that stands out, something individual – hell, I’ve even looked into the possibility of getting shoes made to match my new Baum.

Yes, really.

You see, white shoes are just ‘normal’, run-of-the-mill, what everyone wears.  Boring, if you will.  Why buy white when Mavic do such a cracking job of their yellow shoes, or even their silver ones.  And why go for white when the likes of Bont offer you orange, blue, green, red, yellow, silver, black, and actually even pink for the Rapha-ites among us?!  Sidi may do black shoes, but have you seen how damn shiny they are?  You’re making more of a statement in those than ‘just another’ pair of white disco slippers, believe me.

Come on people, break the mould, ignore the bores from OREC, be the rebel you always dreamt of being at school but were never quite brave enough, stick two fingers up at ‘PRO’ and DO YOUR OWN THING.  Match your club kit, match your bike, match something…

Do be sure you really do match something though, right?  No falling into the same pitfalls of the kit, pink and blue still don’t go, ok?  Do your own thing but get it right – you are trying to qualify as a Bike Tart after all.

Oh, and Thor specials?  Only if your name happens to be Thor Hushovd.