Out Of The Way Local

Wait, what? 

After the nice bike ride the little lady and I had when we took a day off, we decided to go a little bit out of our way on the trip back home to visit a local business we both know and love.  First stop though was a place that’s home to one of my favorite brews (and one I mentioned yesterday in case you weren’t paying attention.)

Yep, we found one of the locations for the Olde Hickory Brewery.  We didn’t stay long, since we didn’t actually plan on being there.  In fact, the road to our real destination accidentally took us right by there, so we really didn’t have time to do much more than peek in the windows.

So, where were we really headed?  Just a short ways down the road is one of my favorite North Carolina businesses, DeFeet International.  We felt like it was time to show our faces around there again.

When we pulled into the parking lot, we were greeted by the man in charge, Shane Cooper.  He said he didn’t know we were coming, but why else would he be out in the parking lot?  He was really busy with meetings though (about new high tech sock offerings and domination in the cycling world no doubt), so he escorted us to a room where we found tons of DeFeet products to take home. 

I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ll say it again.  They have an outlet store there, and if you are ever in the area you should pay them a visit.  We always try to stop by when we’re in the area (which isn’t often enough for me), and we make it a point to bring home lots of goodies. 

I picked up a few things I needed.

Socks (of course), wool knee warmers (for next season), and a couple of pairs of compression socks.  I was even lucky enough to find a pair of socks that go with the type of mountain biking I’ve been falling in love with lately.

As for the compression socks, I had never tried them before.  Being around cyclists so much though, I’ve seen plenty of people wearing them.  They are supposed to help improve blood flow in your legs and aid in recovery, and I’m all about that.  You can only drink so much beer for recovery, you know.

I tried them on, and I’ve been wearing them quite a bit lately.

They really seem to work, and I’ve noticed some results already.  I know plenty of companies make compression socks, but I’m pretty sure that DeFeet makes the best ones.  Little Miss Sunshine has been wearing them for a while, and she likes them way better than other brands she’s tried.

DeFeet is right here in North Carolina, and I’m fortunate enough to be close enough to them to visit there once in a while.  If you’re ever in the area, go check them out. 

Tell them I sent you.

Or don’t.

You might get escorted off the premises.