Weight Loss Update: Down to 179!  That's 26 pounds off.  Wow! 

I absolutely HATE buying shoes.  My feet are difficult to fit, and I broke one in 1990 that didn't heal up quite right.  When I bought hardshell snowboard boots a few years ago, it took custom liners, custom insoles, and several trips to the fitter to get them even close to comfortable.  Dress shoes are awful too, though I have found 1 brand that fits.  Cowboy boots?  I found 1 that fits, and it's what I wear. There's a reason I'm normally either barefoot or wearing sandals.

So now that I'm cycling a lot, it's time to replace my cycling shoes. The pair I have now started off fitting tolerably well.  I didn't get any numbness until 25 miles into a ride, and a short break would take care of that.  But it's been getting worse.  I think because I'm able to put so much more pressure on the pedals now.  This morning, 5 miles in my feet were getting numb.  It's not comfortable.

Over the past two weeks, I think I've been to every cycling store in the Sacramento area.  I've probably tried on 18 different brands of shoes, and a few models in each brand.  I've tried wide shoes, narrow shoes, short shoes, etc. Then Saturday I got a lead on a store in Winters. Drove over there on Sunday morning. Tried yet another brand.  This one was promising. The width in the toe box was pretty good. The rest of the shoe didn't fit too well, but I didn't think I'd get any numbness.  So I bought them.  Got home, installed the cleats for my clip in pedals, and went for a ride. I was careful to walk only on the cleats to keep the bottom of the shoes clean. Well, these didn't work out for me either. They were a little long and I couldn't get the pedals into the right spot under my feet.  VERY uncomfortable. The shop was kind enough to take them back as I kept them clean. I GIVE UP!  I don't think there's a cycling shoe anywhere that fits.

This morning I did something drastic (and expensive). I called a shop in Colorado called D Squared. They specialize in custom cycling shoes. They are not cheap, starting at $595. But I'm pretty well out of options.  Anyway, they are going to send me a "fit kit." This includes a crushable boxes, and a few tools. The idea is that you have someone press each foot into the crush box to an even depth of 1 1/2 inches. This takes a mold of the bottom and sides of your feet. Then, using paper and a special tool designed just for it, you have your helper trace out your feet. Then take a couple of critical measurements, and mark out a couple of important "landmarks" on each foot.  From this information, the guys at D2 (Dan and Don) can build a mold of your feet to make your shoes. They also create a custom footbed so that your foot sits in the shoe correctly. Lastly, they drill the sole of the shoes specifically for the type of pedals that you use, and drill it in the spot that is most likely to be right for your feet. 

I sure hope this works out. It should. Don seemed confident when I spoke to him on the phone this morning. I'll report back on it after go through the fit kit.