In 1958 Chuck Willis wrote, recorded and released a song called "Ain't gonna hang up my rock'n'roll shoes". His words proved to be negatively phrophetic because while the record was climbing the charts he died from peritonitis. Even more amazing, the B side was called "What am I living for?"
Despite this ominous precedent I am today retiring the shoes which you see hanging above. They will rock'n'roll no more because today they have achieved their second millennium. This morning's 14 kilometre walk took them to exactly 2,000 kms, which is more than enough for any shoe. I would be very interested to see just how much further they could go, but although the tops are perfect and there is still some life in the sole, the midsole must be impacted and not affording as much protection to my valuable (to me) feet and knees.
The Columbia Trailmeister is, at least for my feet, a wonderful combination of practicality and comfort. In case you are tempted to say "Well, you would say that, with Columbia as your sponsor", I insist that the opposite is the truth. I do not laud Columbia products because they are backing me - it is the other way round - they are backing me because they know that I am so enthusiastic about their product, especially their shoes, of which I have a great deal of experience. They are the most comfortable shoes I have ever owned. Fortunately, I have several more pairs of Trailmeisters stacked up, ready to be used in training and during VBW.
The reason I kept a record of the distance covered by this particular pair of shoes was so that I would know how many pairs I would need for the whole walk next year. It would seem that I could expect to cover the distance with just one pair of this particular type of shoe, but it is always sensible to alternate shoes from day to day, so will take at least two pairs with me.
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