In October 2012 I decided to step up to “big girl” mountain bike shoes from my Pearl Izumi hiking shoe styled ones. A quick look around my local bike shop left me leaving with a pair of Specialized Motodiva shoes, and I quickly fell in love. I wore them on the bike, I wore them to dinner, I wore them to the store, I played hacky sack in them. They became one of my most comfortable pairs of shoes, and I was never in a hurry to take them off after a ride.
Through mud, dirt, dust, stagnant swamp water, snow, rain, cow poop, cactus, and rocks they went. I ripped a chunk of the upper off the right toe. I smashed the left toe against a rock at 20mph. A week of Midwest/Eastern humidity let the perma-stink set in. Cross season left the black shoes a familiar color of brown. And yesterday I finally did them in… the ratchet handle on the left shoe snapped off as I was tightening it for my gravel grinder ride. I knew it was coming, but when it finally happened I was sad. I could still yank the strap through the mechanism to tighten it down, which made me realize how stubborn I am about giving up these shoes.
The ’14 models of Motodivas now have a BOA dial and come in black/pink, which tickles my heart. My feet are two different girths, so ratchets are a bit different for me as one foot is loose and one is tight. I could go with fancier (aka wimpier) carbon fiber shoes, but I like the fact I’ve put my current Motodivas through the wringer and they’ve survived quite well (and so have my toes after 20mph strikes).
So now a photo memorial to the shoes that have treated me oh so well!
And the debilitating injury to the ratchet…
So the good news? Specialized sells replacement ratchet mechanisms for a fairly cheap price, so I can revive these shoes! Still getting new ones, but at least I’ll have a back up pair 😀
Heidi Rides Bikes 
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