2023 Ride Highlights

 It's 4:46 pm on New Year's Eve. Will I be able to put together a post with ride highlights for the year? Sure! No particular order. Just memorable rides, for one reason or the other.

A 200k with Ben

Ben and I have big plans. So we rode my 200k permanent route together. We probably went a little fast, had some mechanical and biomechanical issues, but overall it went well!

Full Moon on a parking garage

Not every memorable ride needs to be long. After a friend's birthday party I decided to explore a large new development. A new parking structure was still empty but kinda open. On top I got a great view and the full moon. 

Pick Me Up at the Border

For the first time, I actually rode all the way to the Illinois border and back on this ride. As per usual, the weather was questionable, and I didn't actually enjoy the ride too much. But it was good to check this one off. 

Birthday Ride for Nicole

We celebrated Nicole's birthday at Dot's Tavern, right off the Badger State Trail. Beautiful evening/night ride.

Wright Stuff Century, extended version

Another good one with Ben. The Wright Stuff Century used to start in Middleton, but this year the start was farther away, at Brigham County Park. Ben and I rode to the start from Madison and then did the "short" route. 

Zugspitze mini golf

My riding in Germany was cut short because of injury. But this was a fabulous ride in the German Alps. I biked; Nicole took the train, and we met up for mini golf in the most spectacular setting.

A ride that shouldn't have happened

Knees were wrecked from hiking and there was record heat. I abandoned along the route but probably shouldn't even have started.

Ride for your Life

The biggest advocacy ride Madison has ever seen.

 

Wind, mud, CX

Like every year, I rode to the Trek Cyclocross World Cup. It was windy, wet, and muddy. 

MKE x MSN Sandhill Station Camping

A meeting of urbanism/street safety/bike advocacy folks from Milwaukee and Madison. Not quite at the halfway point.

Fetch the Keg

Madison Bike Week: Get beer donated from Hop Garden, pick up by bike. Make it a group ride. Suffer on the hills on your fixie.

Credit: Ben Sandee

Kites on the Lake

I didn't get many frozen lake rides in this year, but this was a good one. Kite festival on the Lake.

 

Camping with Nicole

Our tent leaked. It was a wonderful camping trip to Sandhill Station nonetheless. 

 

Another 200k

Dipping into Illinois again for some, uh, shopping and tile collecting.

 Not the Ride Across Wisconsin but

Went for a spontaneous ride without a fixed route and ended up on the Ride Across Wisconsin route, going the opposite direction. It was awesome to see the endless string of the people on the ride.

First impressions: Adidas Velosamba: vegan, good looking, no crunch

 

For years, my casual cycling shoe of choice was the Giro Rumble VR. I extensively reviewed the shoes on this blog. While I've had my complaints about them, on balance they were a great shoe and the ended up lasting longer than I thought. I actually still have an unused spare pair in the closet. But when it was time to retire the current pair, I was curious to try something different. 

 

 

The Adidas Velosamba struck me as an interesting option. I'm German, and even though I never owned an actual Samba shoe, the aesthetic appeals to me. Add to that they're vegan and Adidas was selling them at a discount. 

I bought the shoes just before winter and so for several months I didn't actually have a chance to wear them. But now winter is nearing its end and I've worn them enough to write up my initial impressions. These impressions are heavily influenced by my experience with the Giro Rumble VR: Are the Velosambas better? Is that even a sensible question to ask? We'll return to that at the end of the post. 

Let's start with the looks. The shoes come in 7 different styles, from the classic black with gum sole and white stripes, some more colorful options, and finally an all white shoe. If you know me, you would be surprised that I went for the all-white shoe! Is a white cycling shoe actually practical? I had my doubts, but in the end those were the ones on sale at the steepest discount while still being available in my size. So I was willing to take a gamble. When the shoes arrived, I was really pleased: The white is bright, and slight iridescent under light. The upper material is mostly very smooth plastic and probably cleans up fairly well. At the front of the shoe, there is some fake suede leather, which probably is more challenging to keep clean. The laces are white as well, with black ends as a color accent. 

 

Functionally, the Velosamba has a few nice features: The lace retention system is well thought out. You can tuck the laces under an elastic band, which is easily lifted with a little pull tab. The cutout for the SPD cleats also seems to be well thought out: These so far have been the least crunchy bike shoes I've ever owned! Maybe this will change as the shoes wear, but it's unlike the Giros, which were crunchy from the get go. 

 

Clever lace retention tab

 

Speaking of the sole: it seems to be a decent compromise between stiffness for biking and flex for walking. This makes them a great choice for my use case, where I want want a shoe that can easily transition from the bike to walking around town. It appears that the Velosamba is cut lower around the ankles and the heel compared to the Giros. This probably provides less support but probably won't be an issue for me: I often ride with shoe laces barely tightened, but I can see how for some people this might be a problem on longer rides/walks. At any rate, I have neither biked nor walked for longer distances in the shoes so far, and so I'll hold off on a final verdict.

Nicely recessed cleats make for a quiet walk

 

 

My main concern so far is the breathability of the shoes. Adidas proudly (annoyingly?) pronounces on the insole ,"End Plastic Waste" and states that the shoes is partially made from recycled plastic. Greenwashing aside, the material does indeed appear plastic-y and breathable at all. Again, I haven't worn the shoes enough to truly judge this.

So let's come back to the comparison with the Giro Rumble VR. In a head to head comparison, Adidas wins in these areas: 

• looks 
• less crunch
• lace retention 
• walking/standing comfort (to be confirmed)
  

The Giros are ahead in: 

• breathabilty
• price
• foot support

Once I've had the chance to wear the Velosambas for a few months I'll post a follow-up to these first impression. So far I'm really happy with my purchase.

Adidas Velosamba at Amazon 

Velosamba at Adidas