Fun with inner tubes

So, the Boa fastener on my left shoe snapped off earlier this week. This was particularly unfortunate because it happened just as I was about to start my 22km homeward commute.

A more sensible individual would have got changed back into normal clothes and headed for the nearest train station. However, having gone to the effort of lycra-ing up I thought I’d make the best of it and find some other way of securing the offending article. After aborting an attempt using the cable ties I keep stuffed inside the handlebar, I noticed a discarded inner tube looped over one of the bike racks. A few minutes with a flat screwdriver resulted in two rubber strips, and eventually the elegant solution you see pictured at the top of the page.

No doubt to your immense surprise, dear reader, this worked rather well. In fact, I was only down a lonely, single kph on my normal average speed (which on reflection is perhaps a little concerning…).

Anyway, I’ve got nearly three years’ heavy use out of the shoes, so I mustn’t grumble too much. Let’s see if the Shimano replacements last as long.

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