The image above is from Instagram. It’s my tried and true, very old and very dusty, cycling sandals. I loved the contrast between my bright shiny pink toenails and my shabby sandals.

Speaking of images, my newsfeed is full of photos of kids going back to school with their smiles and shiny faces, new backpacks and new running shoes. I love back to school.

I don’t buy a lot of back to school stuff these days since the weather won’t get cooler likely until October. I got a new Chrome messenger bag last year and I love it so there’s no new backpack equivalent on the horizon either. But, I was super excited to put new spd cleats into my new spd sandals. They’re my go-to summer commuting footwear for cycling. I usually change sandals when I get to work. They are totally utilitarian and not at all work appropriate.

People love to mock them. It’s true they are ugly. They aren’t good for actual mountain biking. Mud, sticks, rocks, etc.  But those of us who love them for commuting and touring love them a lot. See A love letter to the spd sandal.

I wear them with skirts and dresses. See Riding bikes in skirts and dresses, totally fine if that’s your thing.

About my sandals I wrote, “My road bike has Look pedals, but my cyclocross bike has SPD.  They are not the femme-est sandals in the land but they work. I keep fancy sandals, in colours other than black, in my office but often I don’t change.”

My old pair are very old. They’ve been me through 10 summers. But they’re ripped and torn and not fully functional any more.

I was so happy when Sarah found me a new pair. (They’re also a bit of niche item, hard to track down.)

So my big back to school excitement was my new spd sandals.

How about you? Did you but a new back to school thing? What is it?