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Wednesday, January 11

In defense of a "$19 pair of fucking socks"

Yesterday I posted about my new found love, my brown Swiftwick Seven Pursuits.

In my comments, I got this:
Anonymous said...

$19 for a pair of fucking socks?

Sadly, if the commenter had been less anonymous, I mighta sent him/her a pair of socks so he/she could try them out and see for him/herself. Swiftwick has been very, very good to me (thank you Garrett Morris), and honestly I don't keep all the socks that come my way. I've yet to wear-out a pair of them yet (even the ones I consider go-to's or the ones I wear to work in the winter), so I had some I coulda sent you, Mr/Ms Hater. Too late now, as I'm sure I'd get a lot of commenters claiming to be the $19 fucking sock hater.

I've been drinking a lot of this beer lately:

It costs almost $12 a six-pack. A $12 fucking six pack. I guess I could always buy this instead:

(I did my research last night)

Two, not one, but two twelvers of The Beast for $12. That's a bargain... if you like shitty tasting beer with half the alcohol content (4.5% VS 9.0%) and a third the pretentiousness. I'm too old and financially secure to drink The Beast, and I'm not gonna spend any of my money on what used to be my favorite beer when I was in college 20 years ago ($4.11 per twelve - tax included in 1991).

Why buy a $19 pair of fucking socks when you can get 18 pairs for the same price?

What's not to like? Moisture and odor control, machine washable, cotton blend, and made right here in China.

Although I have to give points to Kmart for selling a black athletic sock, I think I'll stick with made in the USA Swiftwicks. You can read all the techno-spiel over on the Swiftwick website, but I can assure you that I'd rather buy one pair of Merino wool Pursuits than a pack of Kmart cotton blend.

That's right, BUY.

If I had to buy my socks (and fortunately, I don't) I'd still own in the neighborhood of 2-3 pairs of Swiftwicks. Why?

I own a $140 helmet. My rigid crabon frok goes for @ $400 on the open market. My XTR pedals retail for more than a tricked out, top of the line (for Kmart) Mongoose full suspension bike.

I put my money into areas of my life where I can appreciate quality. I spend a lot of time on my bike, and I want that experience to be all that it can be. I want products that will last and give me top-notch service during their lifetime.

Things that are low in priority to me see little, if any, funding. I still have a tubed TV, I bundle my money/ID/credit cards together with a 13 year old binder clip, and I've got about $10 tied up in my office furniture.

I've seen how nice flat screen TV's are in the store, but I'm not upgrading my viewing experience until my shitty TV breaks. In areas where I see an extra dollar spent not making a lick of difference in my quality of life, I'll stick with what I got. Case in point: SRAM PC-1 chains... $8 retail.

And whether I pay for my socks or not, I still freak out when my favorite pair ends up separated on laundry day. As Dough says, "Two socks enter, one sock leaves."

Dryers are not an item I put on the luxury list.

Floor model

And as promised...

The Wednesday retro Dick pic of the week

1987

Senior year. Mullet (bleached), silk running shorts, Swatch, PV Lakers trucker hat, and de-sleeved t-shirt, Awesome in the making. My entire outfit (minus the Swatch) costs less than a pair of Swiftwicks. I had yet to taste The Beast... what a future I had laid out ahead of me.

42 comments:

Stevil said...

Vote with your dollar. Domestically made products sometimes cost more. Buy tiny white shorts that barely restrains your dong. It all comes around.

Shawn said...

I fucking love swiftwicks. I have a drawer stuffed full of socks, but the 6 or so pairs of swiftwicks are the ONLY socks I wear. The merino 4s and 7s for winter, olefin 1s for running shoes in summer. Paying that much for socks sucks, but once you wear them, your hooked.

By the way, you are now the only person other than myself I know that doesn't have a flat panel TV. (I know you since we are internet friends)

John said...

Merino 7s rule. So does the beer. They make a Festive Ale too, which is harder to find but well worth buying.

finn maguire said...

awesome post.
of course, I totally want those socks now. maybe I'll order a couple pairs tonight while I'm sipping a Sam's Imperial Stout ($10 a 4-pack) and sitting on the office chair I found in the garbage.

Junk said...

Wow is it that easy? Ok...$19.99 for a pair of lousy feet covers?!! Good lord, man, you might as well ask me for a kidney. I bet they wouldn't even improve the bulge in my pants. I like the black ones, um if I ever had a pair.

Anonymous said...

"I own a $140 helmet. My rigid crabon frok goes for @ $400 on the open market. My XTR pedals retail for more than a tricked out, top of the line (for Kmart) Mongoose full suspension bike."
but did you actually pay for any of this?

George said...

Gotta agree that the Swifwick socks are the best socks ever. You get what you pay for.
Awesome mullet Dicky, and nice pussy too

Anonymous said...

I think what you are trying to say is you are a bike snob.

Can one really pay too much for love?

TheMutt said...

Expensive socks and beer? What's next, mullets and 1980's cheerleader shorts for everyone?

Pussy.

dicky said...

Anon, did I actually pay for any of this (pedals, frok, helmet)? While I may think the entire bike industry should kneel at my feet, I'm alone in that world. If you don't see them listed on the sidebar as "Dick Support", I assure you that I'm paying for it. Actually, I'm paying for some of that stuff too.

Can't believe Shimano doesn't give me free XTR pedals. Pfffftttttttttt... I could afford better office furniture then.

Anonymous said...

http://www.theonion.com/articles/cyclist-friend-explains-necessity-of-35-socks,18259/

BIG JIM said...

I know somewhere in the world Anonymous has the same definition of coward.

I get some heat around my hood for all the expensive bike stuff I buy. If I like it, and it works, I sure as shit don't mind dropping the coin. Hell, I spend mega coin on Schwalbe tires (must have gold woven in the bead) that are paper thin and may slit a sidewall if it's too windy on a ride. But when they hold air they are freaking awesome, so $$$$ it is.

The only question now is how quick I can get me a order of Swifwicks to the house.

dicky said...

I believe if you place an order today, you should see them well before Christmas.

jacobtubbs said...

dicky, apparently you are a highly influential bikeblogfessional. Ever since you posted about my teammate, Brian Toone (the nutjob on the crappy 15 year old mtb that beat you at SouthernCross), I've been reading your dumb blog and slavishly making purchasing decisions based on the stuff you write about. A quick rundown of dick-spired purchases:

Awesome Strap / Race: Bought it. Rocked pretty hard until I didn't get it tight enough and it quietly puked my backup tube, co2, and favoritest tire lever somewhere on the back side of Oak Mountain. Currently retired.

Mavic Razor shoes: So comfy. So style-y. So white. Make me look faster than I am. Bought em. Love em. Except that for reasons I cannot understand, they have acquired the most heinous foot-funk-odor imaginable. Seriously smells like a small animal straight-up had a bowel movement and then died in them. Other than that, they are the raddest mtb footwear available south of 200 bucks.

WTB Silverado saddle: Yep, somehow you've even influenced my taint-al resting place. Totally in love with this thing until the leather started to peel up on the nose. Still in love, we just don't make out in public as often. Will probably apply raggedy-ass tape job to keep it rolling.

SweetWater Happy Ending: Had never heard of it til you mentioned it. Seemed like a fitting post-Snake Creek TT beverage. Serious beer. Approve.

Which brings us to Swiftwick socks. I have to blame these on you too. I didn't associate these delightful little luxury toe houses with you at point of purchase, yet here we are: They are now my go-to sock of choice. Unfortunately, they are also my wife's 7-pound lap dog's snack of choice, owing I think to the stench they acquired by nestling inside my ate-up with stank Mavics. So now I have like 3.5 pairs of very expensive perforated socks.

I guess I'm saying that I'm really worried where your product endorsement, and my zombie-like acquisition of same, leads. If a year from now I find myself free-ballin' in white hot pants from the kids' section at Target, with my scraggly bleached mullet fluttering majestically in the breeze, I hope my buddies stage an intervention. Too much dicky is... too much.

dicky said...

User error and bacteria infested shoes aside, thanks for supporting my supporters and those that don't bother supporting me in the least. For shoe stench, I spray mine with some athlete/shoe Febreeze and dry them out in front of a fan. That said, all my shoes stink regardless of what brand they are or what I do to de-stink them.

lm said...

While I really loved reading this latest post (as I do all of them), I don't see why you would feel the need to justify yourself to some anonymous individual who doesn't even have the cahones to use an actual identity when insulting your buying habits. Spend whatever the heck you want if you can.

Oh and I plan to try out a pair of those Swiftkicks now based on your glowing review. They sound snuggly. (And YES that is a word). However, they need some more of the funkier colors in women's biking options. So maybe put in a good word with your connection over there for that suggestion. :-)

Montana said...

Anonymous commenters can be such big meanies. I don't let them play in my sandbox anymore.

dougyfresh said...

I just bought a case of Alchemist Brewing 'Heady Topper'

It was not cheap but it is locally brewed and damn fucking good double IPA beer. The money goes back into the Waterbury VT local economy too which has been struggling since Irene.

Win!

Anonymous said...

pussy

Anonymous said...

use a safety pin and keep both together. i haven't lost one since my "pie" gave me that idea. No more black holes in the drier

dicky said...

Laura, my wife calls this a "teachable moment."

dicky said...

Safety pins? That's not very Mad Maxian.

Chris said...

Shove a couple sheets of newspaper in the shoes after a ride. They keep the odor down and help dry them out too. Works like a champ. Switch out for fresh newspaper monthly or if they get real wet.

Anonymous said...

$12 for Sweetwater Happy Ending?

It is $9 at Harris Teeter.

You are not only wearing expensive socks, buy you are over paying for beer at the local hipster market.

dicky said...

Nope... My Harris Teeter price: $10.49. Local hipster mart: $11.49. I'm gratuitously rounding up w/tax and whatnot.

Anonymous said...

It was $8.99 at my local Harry Peter last night.

Moonshine said...

Dicky you absolutely need to make a calendar with those old school pics? I would buy one just so I could look at it every day to make me feel better about me! Proceeds could be used to buy more XTR pedals, beer and pussy...

You, Sir, are my favorite interweb dude! Hopefully I'll get the chance to meet you at the 6HOWC in April!

John Parker said...

I have not been able to find any of this much hallowed Sweet Water at any of the 9 HT's that are in a 3 mile radius of my house....but lest I digress.

on the sock kick good ones are great and so I might need to seek out some swiftwicks, but on the other hand I have these rad blue dress socks that I got at a mall in Vegas (forgot socks on a trip) that are amoung my current faves, so ya just never know.

oh and if u don't want sinky shoe's get some SIDI's

Anonymous said...

So believe it or not but I'm the anonymous poster (actually 2 posts...I missed the .99 and had to add it in there) and I always buy high end bike stuff (Merlin Jones and Turner bikes, and a Matt Chester too along with ENVE rims and stuff like that) as well as microbrews so no worries there but I wear manly Sock Guy or Wooleator wool socks and don't want some fucking homo techno-petro swiftwick socks, so keep 'em. I'm anon cuz I can't figure out how to put my name in there without joining facebook or some ghey web thang. R. C. Mann, Encinitas CA(late of eastern NC)

John Parker said...

Encinitas? jacking this comment string here but man can you do me a favor and swing by Pizza Port for me?

I do miss somethings about southern cal.

Anonymous said...

No problem! Although we usually go to Rosanna's off El Camino.

I also rode La Costa preserve today in shorts and a short sleeved jersey, and Wooleator socks...me love SoCal..Rod

dicky said...

R. C. Mann,

No worries. I don't mind anon comments as much as some.

And you made me laugh...

But I'll keep you off my homo techno Christmas list.

Rick said...

I've had 3 pairs of the Merino Swiftwicks. They all wore out in the heels w/in 2 months. I wore them pretty often, but they should last a lot longer than that. The Olefin Zeros I have on the other hand are fantastic.

HarmonyCreekBrewery said...

I don't have a flat screen tv either. As a matter of fact i don't have a TV period....and neither do my friends. Ok, i will go crawl under my rock again.

the original big ring said...

Medreses dollop looped!

Whoops - that was supposed to read: "Meeeeeeeeoooooooow!" as in, who wears short shorts ?!? They don't leave much to the imagination.

Fuck the police and fuck anonymous commentors - unless they are alcoholic, then they have the right to be anonymous, because it's an anonymous program....right!?

Anonymous said...

Bingoh!

Anonymous said...

would you like to pet my pussy....


priceless!

Anonymous said...

I never saw anyone dressed to kill like that in the 80's...wtf...what happend?

Andy said...

Since I'm employed at one of the ever shrinking manufacturing plants in these great United States,I tend to seek out products made in the USA.I've found that you get what you pay for 9.999 out of 10 times.

Anonymous said...

40 comments? Must be a record and it can't be the socks. I do believe the little Dick pic of the week has opened the floodgates. I was more than a bit creeped over the last LDP - especially when one commenter suggested you get back into those kid shortz. But this pic is truely scary. Bring back Sonya Fridays or I may stay scarred forever.

Also can't find the new brew at my local HT.

Plus 1 with Anon on not bothering figurin' how to get my name on a comment, but still feel compelled not to be Anon.

Advocat

Anonymous said...

I can personally guarentee that I would punch a hole in those Swiftwick socks with my armlike second toe.

I'll give you my address.

Doug from Delaware.

And I third the other Anon, no book of faces, no Google Plus, no blogster log-in.

lm said...

"40 comments? Must be a record and it can't be the socks."

As a matter of fact, it WAS the socks...been reading your blog for a while now, but never had the inclination to actually comment. But honestly, that cute kitten didn't hurt either. It was like part sock infomercial, part Sarah McLachlan subliminal ad.

(FYI---I ordered 3 pairs of the purple/black 12s today, so well done on influencing what I spend my hard earned money on. You should get commission :-))