On being an authority, of sorts

While in Scotland, I made fairly frequent use of my rain shoe covers until the last several days when good weather reigned. (And rain didn't.)   However, the covers had seen better days with fraying stitching and weakening velcro. They were MEC brand and quite effective. Unfortunately, the design had a mild flaw which caused people to sue MEC into withdrawing them from sale and indeed issuing a product recall.  I had been trying to get a suitable replacement for them for months to no avail, so when in Kirkwall, I bought a new pair. However, the weather has been quite dry these last couple of months, so it was only in the last week that I have really used them. And I found them wanting. So I went back to the old ones.

Because of this, when I was in MEC this afternoon on other business, I stopped by the bike department to see if there was anything suitable. As luck would have it, there was a new type of rain shoe cover for sale which fit the bill and my feet. I therefore returned the well-used, and recalled pair for a refund and used the money to help pay for the new version! I felt a bit guilty about this, but not enough to seek confession.

There was a rush at the cash as the store was about to close, so after paying for the new shoe covers, I went to the door to don them (it was raining).  As I did so, a man in scruffy urban cycling togs, asked me about my rain pants and then rain jacket. His approach to biking in the rain was a poncho, but evidently he had doubts about it.  I gave him my opinion, namely that my Activa rain pants had served me well for ten years and that my Showers Pass Transit jacket was value for the money and, no it wasn't too warm as it had pit zips. I was a shade embarassed at saying this, as a glance at his gear suggested a jobbering, budget approach to cycling gear.  In plain language, he wasn't as blessed as I in his biking budget. I made an attempt to cover my relative expenditure by saying my bike was my car, hence... 

As we chatted, a second cyclist approached me and asked where had I got my rain shoe covers! I told him that I had just bought them, then and there! I felt like I was the authority on biking in the rain!