My Father’s Non-Riding Boots
My riding boots are nothing special as far as boots go other than they started life with my father. He was not a motorcycle or scooter rider. After he died they were in the box with some other clothes and things that came home with me. They fit perfectly and are surprisingly comfortable as boots go. When I started riding these became my footwear of choice, mainly because they happened to be here. Riding is hard on the soles of boots and these were not up to the task wearing out quickly.
When the local cobbler learned I was using them while riding he said he would fix me up with some heavy duty soles that would not wear so fast. That was somewhere around 2007 and they are still going strong. The new soles are tough, weigh a ton and stand up to all the foot kicking and dragging I can dish out.
I’ve come to love these boots.
Comfortable, Durable and Protective
Other than a new set of boot laces every once in awhile and some shoe polish when the spirit moves me I’ve not done much with the boots other than wear them. They’re obviously not motorcycle boots by nature but provide a sense of warm comfort while riding. I like to think my father is still powering them.
Snow, rain, mud, gravel and other challenges have not caused me to second guess my choice. I know one day the leather will rip or some seam will fail too terrible for the cobbler to fix but until then I remain faithful to my Wolverine riding boots.
I know my father would hate the idea that I’m riding a scooter or motorcycle but maybe it would help knowing his boots were offering some protection.
“Foot loose and fancy free” comes to mind with your daily post of today.
You’ve indirectly honoured your father by wearing what were his (I assume
from what you’ve told us in prior postings) his “work” or employment-based footwear.
Interesting too your shoe size is the same as your Dad’s!
All well noted. Yet another reason I gave up riding was the inability to find suitable “affordable” footwear for riding. The word enormous comes to mind; my custom orthopedic footwear shop made me two different pair over the course of my 35+ year riding career; with the comment by him that given my physical size and then other developing ailments that perhaps riding a large motocycle let alone any machine might not be the best idea. Other factors contributed to me not riding any more.
Oh, and the boot size you might ask? 11E width, with the shoe/boot size as 17. Width is 10 E is roughly 5.25 inches wide. Very tall basketball players have generally long narrow feet, I have long, extremely wide feet; goes with the massive height and weight. Hence now, could never fit any current scooter,
or motorcycle for that matter, all physically too small,
and of course the safe load limit would be exceeded as well.
Am enjoying “your” daily postings challenge of ToadMama.
Dad was retired when he bought those boots — probably in the 1990s. He continued to work on projects outdoors or in his shop so boots were the gear of the day. And yes, same shoe size, I wear a couple of his sport coats and shirts. Unlike your specialized needs in terms of footwear and clothing I can live on XL tall, off the shelf jeans and t shirts and a pair of boots from the store.
Dumb luck.
I have a pair of Engineer Style boots that I got ten years ago and haven’t even made a dent in them. I guess I’m not giving the scooter any credit since I usually ride with sneakers. The rational being you don’t shift or brake like you do on a bike so it’s sometimes like being in a car. Now that I’ve added bikes to the mix the boots will get more use. I also don’t ride on ice or snow, like somebody I could mention, so foot dragging scarcely ever happens. I did use the boots though when I went to several Bike Nights with the scooter. I wanted to look like I was a serious rider.
I never worried about boots for shifting. Just to protect my ankle bone if I was ever sliding along the pavement…
Having a comfy and durable set of boots is key. Yours look like they’d provide ankle protection (I am told the ankle is an incredibly complicated joint) and since you don’t have to shift gears with your toe, no need for extra reinforcement on that part of the boot.
My search for such satisfaction in one’s boots continues after almost ten years of riding and trying on several boots, perhaps I ask too much of them.
Boots are tough to find. Not nearly as many shoe stores selling boots.
Steve. Nice blog posting. I like the boots and your father connection. It’s touching. That’s the first I heard about that although you’ve been talking about your ‘new’ boot project for a month. I guess boots are a popular guy thing. I have a lot of boots. I have some boot stories too but not as cool as your dad’s boots story. Paul
That boot project is completely different than this post. It will show up when the boots arrive.
A nice tribute to your father, His name is running down the hall from my memory, but I do know he could fix anything and was not afraid of work. He would have good work boots. I remember rubbing concrete with you two and how much fun that was on a August afternoon & drinking some malted beverage, that made the sweat a little sweeter has we were trying to keep ahead of the set. He mention some jokes about my last name ending in a vowel, like” How do you brake up a Italian wedding”, Yell , Concrete’s Here” . He was a good guy, I had fun with him.
I suppose by today’s standards he wasn’t exactly politically correct. I remember when I was growing up and a bunch of guys from the mill would come over for a picnic or to work on something — different ethnic groups and races. And it seemed to my young ears that they just constantly taunted and insulted one another. Perhaps that’s just how they interacted.
45 years ago when I started riding, I bought myself a high quality pair of lace-up boots, and I wore them, riding through most of the US for many years. Decades later, after resoling them a number of times, I passed them on to my son when he started riding — and I bought myself as new pair. Those old boots are still going strong, crossing many two-wheeled miles, on my son’s feet.
That’s family heritage!
When it comes to scootering, it seems that next to helmets, footwear is the most controversial subject. Some argue that you can’t even think about throwing a leg over the saddle without a full-on pair of racing-style boots for the sake of safety, while others insist you can get get by with a pair of high-top Chuck Taylors because hell, lots of scooter riders went without helmets for so long, and a scooter ain’t a big, hairy mo-sickle!
I’m inclined to believe the truth is someplace in the middle. While I insist on a FF helmet and proper riding gloves, and a sturdy if not heavily armored jacket and full pants (upgrading those before too long), I decided on a pair of over-the-ankle Nunn-Bush boots to start me off. “Safest” choice in the event of a nasty launch off the bike onto pavment? Possibly not, but I’m betting they’s do a decent job, and in the event of something that violent, my feet might not me the first set of extremities I’d be concerned about, aside from simply surviving.
Love the story about your Dad’s boots. Even better, and harder to come by these days, those boots are resolable. That’s the ticket: they’re comfy, they certainly seem safe enough, IMO, for riding, and with a modicum of care you’ll be able to pass them on when the time is right. It’s all truly good.
If you have not seen the Adam Sandler movie “The Cobbler”, I think you might enjoy it!
Steve: In my over 40 years of street riding, I’ve gone from properly “safe” riding boots to what I’ve worn for the last 10 years or so: Merrell Jungle Mocs. I wear these whether I’m on one of my Harleys, my BMW or my GTS 300. Comfortable and great rubber soles for street traction. In Georgia, we don’t often have the wintry weather concerns that you contend with, so we can be less demanding on our footwear.
Your connection with your father, through wearing his boots, is very cool.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who appreciates boots with a history. My wife just rolls her eyes. ;o)
I’ve been a bit lax on footwear, especially when commuting to work, but most of the time wear boots. I did fall for the mystique of “real” boots, especially when I found some that fit my size 15s. The Aerostars are nice and all, especially if I want to look geared up. However, before them, and even now, my go-to boot is a pair of Fabianos, (made in Boston) that I used to wear in my hiking/rock climbing days. They have nice, padded ankle protection, and have been resoled at least once. Even though my feet have expanded a bit over the 40 years since I got them, they still feel great. Maybe I’m cheap, maybe I’m nostalgic, but I like them. They should last another decade.
Since a minor crash a year or so ago in which my ankle was pinned by the edge of the floorboard, I tend to cheat far less often. Luckily I mostly had to grow back a patch of skin on that one. May not be so lucky next time.
Fabiano boots were kind of bombproof. I opted for Danner hiking boots myself. Put a lot of miles on them. Hard for some to understand the love affair with worn old boots if they are living in them and appreciate the aging patina. I can well imagine a crash that pressured the ankle would cause a person to be protective in the future!
That’s love.
And I happen to use mountain boots as well, for riding purposes!
I don’t even use polish but saddle grease, the very same I use now and then on the true leather Vespa saddle.
I have some Saddle Soap that I used in the past. But now it’s just shoe polish.
At the point when discussing cruiser boots for men, we are not just discussing the Harley Davidson’s calfskin boots or those that we more often than not see on TV like the “Children of Anarchy”. Truth be told, there are numerous different sorts of boots, for example, the dashing and road cruiser boots.