It was the most painful class I've ever taught. Not painful in the; "John, your class was so bad it was painful." I mean PAINFUL... my feet were killing me for the entire hour. Here I was riding with my Sidi shoes, sans insoles. Earlier in the week I had transferred my prized Superfeet Blue Insoles from my old shoes (with Delta cleats that fit the bike at Life Time) to my new Sidi Mega's (I use LOOK Keo cleats on my VeloVie bicycle) and had forgotten to switch them back 🙁
It didn't help that for the full 60 minutes of class I berated myself for being an idiot. Why was I wasting my time switching inserts between shoes (adding yet more additional stress to my life) when I could simply order a second pair (in about 10 seconds) online with my Amazon.com prime membership?
I have really crappy feet. They're quite wide, the left foot has almost no arch and both are pronated to boot - please forgive the pun. It doesn't matter what I'm wearing; street shoes, running shoes or cycling shoes - they all give me trouble.
So here I was, riding with nothing in my shoes. No cushion, no support, no nothing. Just the hard flat bottoms of the shoes. Oh, and the little depression in the center, right under the ball of my foot, where the cleat connects which felt like it was growing the whole class.
Over the years I have experimented with a bunch of shoe insoles. I worked for Shock Doctor for a spell as a sales rep and was able to try their full line of replacement insoles. I wore them for years until I was introduced to Superfeet by a member at the club. They are now my favorite and difference between a comfortable 2+ hour ride and having my feet scream at me from mile-one on.
So when I got home I logged onto amazon.com, did a quick search and hit the one click purchase button. Two days later the nice UPS guy shows up with a little box. Problem solved and it took me a total of less than a minute... that is if you don't count the 60 minutes of agony I suffered in class.
Amazon Prime costs $79.00 a year, which may sound like a lot until you consider the value of your time. In the past, if I had decided to purchase something I would; A: jump in the car, drive somewhere burning $4 gas, get there and hope the store had what I needed. Or; B: go one line, search for a product, check a bunch of sites to see which had the lowest price, go through the checkout - only to get torqued off when I discovered there was a minimum purchase or they planned to charge me $10.00 to ship some $14.95 gizmo - where I would either quit the process or start over.
I'd much rather spend my limited free time doing something that brings me joy or makes me feel super productive 🙂
I started with a free 30 trial.
Other examples. Last week my younger daughter had a bunch of friends over. The next morning I discovered something dark and sticky on our ironing board - which I later learned was barbecue sauce. As the official "Ironer" in our family, I would've been looking at a trip to Target for a new cover. I hate shopping for anything, so I don't. A few clicks and I had my new cover two days later. Same thing this past winter. It seemed like every time one or the other kid when back to school, I was missing another iPhone charger 🙁 Not any more.
John is a member on the AFS (Association of Fitness Studios) Advisory Council.
Holding certifications from; Schwinn, Heart Zones, Team ICG and Life Time Fitness, John's held regularly scheduled cycling classes between 1998 and 2015 when he moved to Florida.
When the weather permits, you'll find him riding and leading outdoor groups by himself or with his Tandem partner (wife) Amy.