Well, what are you wearing now?
I know that most current sport shoes and walking shoes feature exaggerated
padded rolls around the ankle opening. It's easy to see how these might
cause irritation.
A good driving shoe (for a B, where your foot can't ever be flat on the
floor) would be very low cut around the ankle (like a classic loafer), and
have a very low heel (to avoid the "balanced on the knife-edge heel"
syndrome). It also needs a stiff sole, or at least a reinforced arch, so you
don't get a pressure bruise or metarsal arch cramp from the tiny pedals.
At any rate, the things they sell as "driving shoes" resemble Italian
loafers with heelless soles, though they often feature knobby treads.
On the other hand, it is possible a high-top lace-up shoe could work by
supporting the ankle. Racing shoes are often high-top, though that may have
more to do with fireproofing than comfort.
What definitely doesn't work for me are my running shoes. The wide,
wedge-shaped heels and other knobbly protrusions get caught on the pedals
and carpet, and are generally awkward. But my hand-sewn Italian loafers have
soles that are too thin (you can feel the pedals as a definite lump) and
slick (slipping off the brake and clutch).
on 7/26/06 2:29 PM, Aaron Whiteman at awhitema@panix.com wrote:
> For me, not the car.
>
> I just got home from a rather brilliant multi-day drive surrounding
> my class reunion. I needed an excuse for a drive, that was it.
>
> I took WA-24 past Hanford, White Pass (US12) from Yakima, then I-5
> and US12 again home to Elma on day one. On day 2 (about a week
> later), I drove 101 up to the ferry, crossed to Whidbey Island, and
> continued on WA-20 to Okanogan, where I slept for the night.
> Temperatures in western Washington were down to the 80s, east of the
> Cascades had dropped to the 90s, so that was nice.
>
> On day 3, I continued from Okanogan through the Colville Reservation
> to Inchelium, crossed the Columbia at Gifford, and headed south for
> Home.
>
> All told, just short of 1000 miles.
>
> I saw one other MG during the trip, a nice green B on Whidbey
> island. Unlike the Triumph driver I also saw, the driver even
> waved! 'Twas nice to see.
>
> Anyway, now that I've gone far off topic, time to bring it back.
> Without fail, every time I drive more than say 200 miles, my feet get
> very sore at the achilles, like my shoes are rubbing or something. I
> switched from Cotton to smartwool socks for the return trip, which
> helped, but the problem never really went away. For those of you
> that drive the marathon drives, how do you cope?
--
Max Heim
'66 MGB GHN3L76149
If you're near Mountain View, CA,
it's the primer red one with chrome wires
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