Shyheels

It is very presumptuous - but then some people just seem to be like that. I can never understand this mindset.

It's a look I'd like to try

Maybe he thinks you’re just incorrigible!

The ones I saw didn’t look fake, but at any rate the look seems very much in vogue.

A day in London yesterday, mainly in the Covent Garden, Seven Dials area and along the Strand - a lot of heels, mostly knee and OTK boots with chunky heels. A couple of stilettos and mercifully only one pair of kitten heels. A surprising number of leather trousers, which seem to be much in vogue.

There are certainly more heels here too in winter than in summer - at least in my experience. Again, boots

Your impression is probably accurate. I just passed through London today - Kings Cross Station and St Pancras - heaving with people and virtually nobody in heels.

These days with so much hypersensitivity around he was probably reluctant to open any conversation about your alternative footwear

I rode both the German and the Austrian sections, and on one of those times continued nearly to Budapest before turning off and riding down to Trieste - although after Vienna the it really isn’t the same thing. The German and Austrian parts are brilliant. I love the Donau Radveg. I’ve toured all over the world and that is one of my all time favourite rides.

Germany is such a great place to tour on a bicycle! I have ridden through the Black Forest and followed the whole length of the Donau Radveg (twice!) Not in heels though … 😊

Yes it very much depends on your pedals! I never got into the modern trend for clipless pedals and the pedals on my bicycles are all old-school quill pedals and my feet never slip on them. But a lot if cheaper bikes and rental bikes have these flat pedals with plastic platforms that can be very slippery when wet. I rodeo e once and being used to really nice bicycle, I was appalled. i think it will be fun to put in my stilettos and ride to a place where i can practice. Come spring I hope to be doing this!

It’s unlikely, but if the ball of your foot slid outwardly on the pedals and you were wearing stilettos your heel could hit the front mech on the downstroke. Unlikely, but I think it’s possible. in any event it’s perfectly possible to cycle in heels, and something I am considering so I can get to places to practice in my 12cm stilettos

There’s no way your heel should get stuck on the pedals. Your heel doesn’t touch the pedal, no matter what kind if footwear you’re wearing. It’s just the ball if your foot on the pedal. Dismounting might feel strange in heels, but that’s all. The biggest problem woukd be the risk of scuffing your nice heels on the chain if you don’t have a chain guard, or getting a long stiletto heel stuck in the front shifting mechanism. If you were careful and pedalling at a measured pace there should be no problem

I don't understand how cycling in the Netherlands can be considered challenging. The place is made for cycling. Europe in general is excellent - at least compared with Britain - and the Dutch and Danish in particular have it down to an art. The challenge with cycling in heels will depend on the type of bicycle you're riding - the classic Dutch commuter bike, with the chain guard, wouldn't pose a problem. With others there's a chance of getting a long stiletto heel scuffed on the chain or caught in the front shifting mechanism. Smooth leather soles could slip off some styles of pedals, especially in the rain, and obviously you couldn't ride clipless pedals but the old standard quill pedal should give you sufficient grip.

North shore, sure. That makes sense! Offhand I can't think of any suburbs up there beginning with New, but then riffraff like me didn't frequent the North Shore