HendersonD

On May 10th I am starting the Transamerica going from east to west. This will hopefully have me finishing the 2nd week of August in Astoria, OR
I am debating whether I need to purchase some bike shoe covers
Thoughts?

79pmooney

I wouldn't. Now I might well consider good fenders with a deep front flap that will do wonders keeping road water (including fairly deep puddles) off your shoes. The high western mountains need to be addressed, What is your highest pass and how late in the summer will you be hitting it?

Those shoe covers are going to take up space almost the whole ride and for the vast majority of it, do nothing for you. I'd consider a pair of thick socks that could double as in-the-tent foot wear, go over your shoes and inside produce bags with a thin, stretchy pair to go over everything for the serious cold if you hit it. And if you don't, your feet won't complain about being treated like kings. (Plus - the perfect packing job if you want to travel light - one where you wear everything you brought on the coldest night and are warm. Those socks will be wonderful in your sleeping bag. Shoe covers less so.)

staehpj1

Not something I take. I wear shoes that drain well, don't soak up much water, and dry quickly. That way with a sock change in the evening your feet are pretty much dry. I wear socks that are comfy when damp. I like poly socks, but some prefer wool.

That assumes you concern is wet weather. I didn't have any trouble with cold feet on tour even when doing the ST in winter or the TA in summer or a number of other tours in the mountains. So I wouldn't take them for cold either given that timetable.

HendersonD

The highest is Hoosier Pass (11,524 feet) which is just south of Breckenridge, CO and I am hitting it at the end of June. Yes, space is the issue, especially if would only use the covers a handful of times
My Trek 520 does have front and rear fenders

Tourist in MSN

I use shoe covers if it is cold enough that I am also wearing rain pants. But if I am not wearing rain pants, the rain on my legs would run down into my socks, even if I was wearing shoe covers, thus they would not accomplish much. So, the question is are you bringing rain pants?

On my last tour which ended a few weeks ago in southern USA, I brought rain pants, but it was warm enough that I chose not to wear the rain pants when I rode in rain. And I did not use the rain covers that I had for that reason.

But, on the day I took this photo several years ago, it was chilly enough that I was happy that I had rain pants and shoe covers. But that was not in USA.

djb

How do you feel about wet shoes? Wet shoes that may take a few days to dry out. Really depends on your shoes and your take on this.
As shown, shoes can get pretty darn grimy too riding on wet roads. My rain booties take up very little space, but others don't use them.
Which of us will sway you with our infomercial sales jobs?

HendersonD

I do not plan on bringing rain pants. I do have long pants I can wear over my bike shorts that provide warmth but they are not waterproof. I can stand a good bit of cold on my legs and figure I will not encounter a huge amount of rain. I am hoping I am correct

CliffordK

By mid June it should be warming up in the West, with less frequent rain. Although I have been rained on many times camping in Idaho. Often short thundershowers or hail storms. But with some luck you'll dry out just as quick as you get wet.

It might not hurt to have a couple pairs of spare socks so you'll always have something clean and dry to put on the feet.

July/August here in Oregon is mighty dry.

staehpj1

Yes, I always have tried to choose shoes that drain well, are decent to wear when wet, and dry quickly if they do soak up any moisture. For me that means wearing my Sidi MTB shoes. The lorica doesn't absorb any moisture and they have enough mesh to drain and dry out okay. I have owned shoes in the past that took days to dry out. I avoid them like the plague these days. At home I wear my sidis every day rain or shine and never notice any significant wetness when I put them on for my morning ride.

I haven't worn shoe covers since I moved to Florida other than gaiters for trail running in some sandy conditions, but even when I was up north I seldom wore shoe covers even when it was pretty cold. Even then I mostly only wore gaiters for trail running in snow and not shoe covers even for 0 F on the bike (when it was below 20 F I was mostly mountain biking and not road biking). In recent years I haven't been running so I haven't put on gaiters or shoe covers in years.

raybo

My compromise is to carry rain shoe covers I made out of plastic water bottles and a nylon gaiter. They work well with rain pants. Here is how to make them: https://www.biketouringtips.com/Test...php?tipID=1806

They weigh almost nothing, can be rolled together and shoved in the corner of a pannier, and can be used to cover a saddle overnight. Feet sweat, so shoe covers won’t keep your shoes completely dry in the rain, but these covers work well enough for me.

mbusky

Want to know about wet shoes, ask a long distance hiker. Get the right shoe to start with. I walked for two days straight in rain, in puddles, crossing streams, trench like sections of the Appalachian Trail with water pouring off mountains so I know wet feet and soaked shoes. Synthetics are your bet best for drainage and quick drying along with removable insoles. hang your shoes to dry toes up at night open them up airing them out, some socks dry better than others I'd try to find those. A few sheets of plain old newspaper wadded up in the shoes will draw out some extra moisture and is reusable. Take care of your feet, skin may be waterproof but a little skin care cream or ointment will help. At least on a bike you wont loose your the majority of your toenails, hiking downhill sucked for me!

GhostRider62

A lot of AT thruhikers learn they have too small of hiking shoes coming down Blood Mountain conveniently at Mountain Crossings where they dump 20 pounds of unneeded crap and buy some more appropriate gear. That descent NOBO kind of sucked.

WRT OP and TA. I did TA about as light as possible. Just accept you will get wet. I only had a couple wet days. Stuff dries off real quick on 140-150F pavement. I did TA in June with temps ranging from a low of 24F to a high of around 120F with some hail, snow, and rain but mostly dry. Who knows what your weather will be but if it were me, I would have my wool leg warmers, two pairs of wool socks, my shakedry goretex rain jacket. showerspass helmet rain cover, merino wool gloves, arm warmers, merino base layer. The shoe is critical. Although I am more a racer mindset, on a tour I would probably have flat pedals and a pair of non-waterproof hiking shoe that dries quickly whereas a goretex padded shoe sounds nice, they get wet and take forever to dry. I use Sidi shoes, they do not absorb much and they dry quickly. I did bring light booties and only used them in the cold. When it rained a few times, it was so hot that it felt good. I would probably bring one of my rain pants on a tour. I have a pair that almost look like athletic pants and would use these at night instead of cotton trousers in colder weather. Also, the rain jacket and pants are convenient when doing laundry. YMMV. GL

Tourist in MSN

Probably half the times I put rain pants on is not for the rain, but when the temperature is in the 40s (F), rain pants are quite windproof and that adds some warmth. But if your travels will be in warmer climate, that is not really pertinent.

I have not had good luck with thinking that bike shoes will dry out fast. I carry a second pair of shoes on a tour, hiking shoes, specifically Merrill Moab waterproof shoes. And a light weight pair of sandals that are mostly used as shower shoes but also function well in a campsite. When one pair of my shoes is wet, I get quite obsessive about keeping the second pair dry. I might wear the sandals in a campsite because I do not care if they get wet, and that helps keep my dry pair dry. Sometimes I will wear the hiking shoes on my bike for a full day to give my cycling shoes a chance to dry out when the rain spell has ended. Thus, my pedals are SPD cleat on one side and platform on the other. The hiking shoes have a stiff enough sole that I can bike all day with those on platform side of my pedals without getting sore feet. My sandals that are quite light weight, their sole is not stiff enough to use on bike pedals for very long, so I only use the bike shoes or hiking shoes for riding.

On one of my past trips, my touring partner chose to go as light as possible, only brought bike shoes. No other footwear. And after several rainy days, he started to have skin problems on his feet, we had to take a day off so he could stay off of his feet for a full day (and two nights) to help his skin on his feet recover.

Someone above mentioned long distance hikers, but that is not really applicable because my hiking boots are not vented like bike shoes. I apply a hydrophobic treatment to my hiking boots regularly and in rain I am wearing waterproof gaiters that reduces how much water can run down my legs into my socks. And I do not have the wind blowing the rain onto my legs like you do on a bike. I have much better luck keeping my feet dry, or if not totally dry, not too wet.

indyfabz

We’ve had some really wet weather here on the east coast lately. And temps have been running 10 degrees below normal. It’s been raining pretty much all day, and more is expected during the week and next Saturday. You might want to rethink your plan. You can always mail stuff home later in the trip.

HendersonD

I have done a good bit of long distance hiking. Long distance hikers never use leather boots and nearly all never use boots with fabric uppers. They use trail shoes that in essence are sneakers with a bit beefier sole. This saves weight and also shoes like this do dry out quickly. The same idea about faster drying bike shoes is applicable as others have pointed out

indyfabz

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/th...t%20a%2Dgley.”

What happens if you do get days of cold rain and you arrive at camp with soaked pants? I would bring the rain pants and have them double as off-bike pants. Two uses for the price of one.

GhostRider62

That was me and you are wrong. I did not mention hiking boots. I said shoe. To be specific, I was thinking of my Salomon XA Pro 3D V 8 non-goretex version. These things are more ventilated than any cycling shoe that I have owned and the sole is reasonably stiff. There are other trail shoes but I have not used them, trail shoes used by thru hikers are generally designed to dry fast are are closer to a sneaker than an old leather boot, they also generally have a much stiffer sole than a sneaker to offer some protection against rocks. One could get away with one pair of shoes on tour. I have never brought two pairs of shoes on any tour.

Tourist in MSN

If you are talking about the hikers that are doing something like the AT, there are only a few thousand each year that are spending the thousands of dollars that it costs to do the AT. They are in a class by themselves and do not really represent the typical backpackers. The ones that I have talked to that have completed the AT were telling me about how many pieces of gear they went through because it did not hold up.

I have seen a very small number of hikers like you describe that are wearing shoes that look like running shoes, but they are wearing out shoes quickly, not sure how many pair they go through in a year. And I have seen some hikers that must have very strong ankles that are using something that look like running shoes, but they often are only carrying enough gear for a long weekend.

Or, maybe you are mostly hiking in a dry climate? I have not done much of that, my gear is more oriented towards temperate climates.

But most of the hikers I see that are doing a long distance have something more robust if they are out for weeks or longer. I do see a lot of others using boots like mine.



My boots work pretty well in conditions like this with very uncertain footing.

GhostRider62

I spent the last two days riding in the rain......with rain pants.

OP, you really need to think that one thru. It can be cool/cold/wet in the Appalachians and Ozarks and cold early morning in the Western mountains

As a young lad, I toured without rain pants and did one 4 week stretch where it rained every single day.....hard. My thick merino wool Sergal tights never left my skin. I had no money and goretex pants did not exist. Being wet all the time didn't seem bad at the time.

I put my goretex shakedry jacket and Assos rain pants into a 2.8L Cyclite frame bag, all in it weighs just over a pound and there is still room with them tightly rolled. About as light (and expensive) as possible, if weight and space are your primary concerns. If money, ignore what I wrote.

Maybe a cheap pair of the Frog Todds made for cycling until you get past Newton. You can always mail them home.

Tourist in MSN

You were writing and posting this while I was writing a post on the same topic.

Yeah, the through hikers I have talked to that did something like the AT were using some very light gear that they could burn through quickly because they were spending thousands of dollars on the gear for their through hike.

They are in a different class than the typical backpacker.

Tourist in MSN

I am not the OP, so I know you did not say that to me.

But this does help explain many of your comments that us middle class people sometimes do not understand.

djb

The only way to learn is by making mistakes and maybe learning from them.
You will learn from your decisions and modify them or not. .
If interested, get back to us with your observations.
Good luck

njkayaker

For wet or warmth?

Your feet are going to get wet. Shoe covers won't help you with that.

If it's warm enough, getting wet is somewhat tolerable.

djb

Shoe rain booties do keep your shoes from being totally soaked.
If your shoes are ones that don't soak up a ton of water like sponges, great. But groom lots of experiences riding in heavy rain with rain booties, it's nice not to have soaked shoes.

But it depends.

And as you say, temps are a factor.

GhostRider62

Bizzare, I did not quote you and you think I was addressing you when I specifically addressed "OP"

I gave the cheap and the expensive solution to an obvious problem that the OP doesn't quite see. There is a good chance he will be cold and wet in the East, $25 on a cheap set of rain pants can be trashed or sent home. OP wasn't very specific why he does not have much gear. I suspect he wants to go very light, thus, I gave the light solution and the cheap solution. As to your wise comment about middle class, my income doesn't come close to middle class and in fact could qualify for food stamps. I just learned to cry once when buying gear.