As Splicer continues to hemhorrage money

Rode my new motorcycle even farther today… all the way to Daly City. I actually toyed with the idea of going all the way to Pacifica, but the way I know to get there involves a real highway portion of Route 1, and I’m not quite comfortable enough on the bike (having ridden on the streets less than two days) for the freeway. Route 35 was scary enough because the wind was pretty high. Getting pushed around by crosswinds at 55mph is… well, I can see why people choose to own bigger, heavier bikes.

The point of the trip was to visit the Red Wing Store in Daly City, and I didn’t need to go all the way to Pacifica for that (duh). I wanted to get «Tech-Toe» boots, which are like steeltoes, but with some kind of lightweight polycarbonate instead of steel. They don’t make any boots as tall as I want for riding with Tech-Toe, so I gave up on them. Instead I found the «Fire Boot», which looks like this:

…except with a zipper insert that’s hard to explain but involves two laces and a complicated lacing pattern (complete with instruction manual and special pull-tool). Once in place (as they are now) the boots come on and off with a zipper. The nice thing is that if I get sick of having zippered boots, I can take the insert out and lace the boots normally (as they are in the picture.)

They are steel-toed boots and also steel-soled in case someone tries to nailgun my feet from beneath. ANSI-rated of course.

The Red Wing salesman said he sells a lot of that model to EMTs. I figured they should be good enough for me, but also took it with a grain of salt. I mean, the salesman could be saying anything and I’d never know the difference. Later on in the day however, I saw my friend Niko, who actually is an EMT. She said that mine were exactly the boots she wants, except that Red Wing doesn’t make them in women’s sizes and that the smallest men’s size they make is too big for her. So I’m gratified that I’ve graduated from boots worn by punk rock losers to boots preferred by actual real-life superheroes.

Side note to the people at the Red Wing Shoe Company: hey, make the Fire Boot in women’s sizes! A chick EMT might save your life someday, and then won’t you feel dumb for not making the best boot for her? I’m just sayin’.

Many of the Red Wings on display in the store had little U.S. flag tags on the laces. I asked whether some were made in the U.S. and some made elsewhere, fearing that Red Wing had gone the way of Converse, sending their manufacturing overseas. Nope, just that the floor staff only has so much time to unlace display shoes and put miniature U.S. flags on them. So what the hell, I figure. I’m pretty pleased to have sent my money to a domestic company (even if I didn’t do so when I bought my bike). My new boots have tacky little U.S. flags on them, and the reverse side says «Red Wing Shoe Company». Sweet.

I notice that I have a little fear that wearing a representation of a U.S. flag might gain me some scorn from the local politically-correctness nazis. But I comfort myself by remembering that if I get my ass kicked by a hippie while I’m wearing steel-toed boots, I deserve the beating.

Anyway, just as I was leaving the Red Wing Store, it started pouring down rain. It’s good that I get to learn to ride in the rain I guess, but not so good that I get to learn what it’s like to get my jeans soaked through. Ugh. So add riding pants to the list of pricey accessories I should get soon.

At least I have a mostly appropriate jacket. For over a decade people have been asking me if I ride a motorcycle when I wear my black leather jacket. Now I no longer have to tell them I’m just a poser.