More on Conventional Wisdom

Two stories having to do with gear and conventional wisdom. (See the previous post.)

I went to buy toe straps (to lash a basket to a rear rack) in my local bike shop (where they are really nice and helpful, so I don't mean this as a criticism). Just as an idle observation, the guy selling me the toe straps said, "You ought to try step-in pedals."

And once while riding my Trek with its 32mm tires, I was turning onto (gasp!) a dirt road, when a young fellow out riding with his lady said, in horror, "You're not taking that bike on THAT road, are you?"

People just accept the conventional wisdom. Everyone knows that click-in pedals are better, and everyone knows that you need a MOUNTAIN BIKE for dirt roads. But, really, I like my pedals, I've ridden thousands of miles on them (wearing tennies). And my "road bike" was just great on that dirt road (and many others).