"...like an old scuffer in stolen shoes"

This morning dawned crispy cold and fine, a total departure from the meteorological norms of the past few weeks.
I stayed abed until it was finally warm enough to sustain normal life, but such a fine day calls for an outing on a shiny new bike, and in the Roy Thame I had just the thing.
Furthermore my newly acquired Marresi shoes needed a tryout, so I kitted myself up, pumped up the Thame's tubulars and took myself for a lap of the ride known to Auckland's cycling community as 'the Shitponds'.

The Roy Thame is probably the twitchiest bike I have ever owned. The steep head angle and light frame combine to produce a mild shimmy if it is ridden one handed with a tight grip on the bar- loosen up and it goes away.
With 28 spoke tubulars it feels fast and buzzy, but I never got out of the small chainring, so the proof will have to wait for another day.
To my surprise, the narrow SR World Champion bars (only 38.5cm at the hoods) did not feel too bad. At the drops they measure 41cm c-c, but I didn't spend too much time there today.

Don't cry for me Imelda

I know I'm mixing up my fascist dictatorettes, but the grief of binning two of my favourite pairs of cycling shoes is almost overwhelming.

On the left, my Sidi cyclocross shoes, bought from Belgium 20 years ago.
Used for a few years of mountain bike riding, and then for commuting, I reglued the soles more times than I can remember.
Recently I replaced them with a pair of crappy Diamant cross shoes from Ebay, which are not as comfortable, and probably less durable, but there is not a lot of choice when you are still commuting with toeclips.

The Diadora Euro TCK (size 43.5 in case you have a pair you want to part with), were my #1 pair of road shoes from 1998 onwards, being demoted to retro riding duties when I went back to clipless in 2001.
I stopped using them when the sole started peeling off, and Ebay eventually provided a pair of Marresis that I am growing to like.