Traveling is great, because you never know who you're going to meet and what's going to happen. Carma helps it all go round. This is story of rain, iPhones and free giro cycling shoes...

Recently, on a 4 month cycling trip through Europe, i stopped off at Eurobike in Germany and had a beer at the Giro booth. I use some of their gear on a regular basis and was happy to get the chance to tell them about it. Specifically, the clipless shoes they make.

Rumble VR Clipless Cycling Shoes

I've had other Giro cycling shoes, but these ones won my hear. They have recessed clips so you can walk around normally and are all black, so you can wear them all the time. I do in fact wear them 8 months of the year. They don't work so well in Canadian winters :)

They have Vibram soles that are super comfortable and a mesh section that keeps you from over heating. Genius. I love cycling gear that doesn't make you look like a rainbow.

How to Diffuse a Thief

Later that evening I was chatting with some cyclist and a woman was beside me frantically looking for something. She'd left her phone there a couple of minutes before and someone had taken it. I suggested we use my phone to "Find my I-Phone" and we could instantly see hers moving across the conference grounds on our little map.

When we got close the phone, there was a crown of people so we set off it's alarm to identify it. Unfortunately there was a lag in the cell signal so the position wasn't accurate. The culprit was further away and we couldn't even hear the alarm. I'm guessing he did though as the little blue dot started moving faster away from us. So we set to the chase.

As the rain started pouring down and the sun began to set, we ran as fast as we could towards the accelerating blue dot. Eventually, we caught up with the guy, who had taken shelter. Apparently he'd thought we would have given up by then. Not so.

As we approached the thief, the woman through her arms around him, gave him a huge hug and thanked him for finding her cell phone. A classy way to diffuse a precarious situation. That approached wasn't what was going through my mind.

On the way back, cell phone in hand, we caught up with her crew - the Giro crew. The generously invited me to dine with their crew and we had a blast.

Since i loved my Giro shoes so much that i'd worn holes all through them, they offered to send me another pair. Totally unnecessary but welcome none the less. 

I'm stoked to have a fresh pair of shoes for my upcoming cycling trip through France this fall. Shoes are very important there ;)

Moral of the story: Be nice to people and you'll get a free pair of cycling shoes.

Thanks Guys!

Love your gear.