Burning socks don't exactly smell like roses. I've put proped my feet up by the fire many a time and singed my socks a bit and caught a wiff of the burnt-foot-odor. Not good. But I've never done it on purpose.

At a 12-hour mountain bike race I attended recently I was standing around a bonfire the night before the big event. Everyone was having a good time, chatting, drinking, yelling, getting pumped for the race, thinking of jumping the fire on their bikes (no one jumped... WUSSES!).

Then a rep from Swiftwick socks stepped forward with beer-in-hand and asked if anyone was willing to burn their old socks to get a new pair of Swiftwicks. I responded with lightning fast speed to this request. It was some primal reaction that harkened back to the days when I was in college and I heard the words "$3 Pankcake Breakfast".

All I had to do was take off my socks (which were cheap cotton wal-mart ankle socks) and toss them into the fire. I did this with no reservation knowing that I was going to get a high-performance sock. And even if I wasn't crazy about these new socks, they would be better than wally world quality. I got the 4" cuff, which I wouldn't have picked for myself, I had to roll them down European cycling style, but hey 'free is free.' If you like shorter cuffs make sure and get the shorties.

I was happily surprised overall. The Swiftwicks I got are very nice wicking socks. They are thin though, I'd use them in warmer weather, which is when we do most of our riding anyway. These usually go for about $15 and you can order them on the Swiftwick website. Of course you could wait for the next mountain bike event in your area and hope they show up at the bonfire...

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