Ice Cleats Anyone?

Ice Cleats Anyone?

A week ago like many Montrealers, I slipped and fell on an icy Laurier Avenue sidewalk, while taking my daughter to school. Slipping and sliding is more than disconcerting, it's downright stressful.

Two days later, I helped my very pregnant neighbour over the icy sidewalk, advising her to walk on the road where it was safer. But alas, "safer" is a relative term in this city. Many motorists exceed the city speed limit on our streets with little regard for pedestrians having no place to go. After wading through knee-high snow with my six-month-old son on the same sidewalk last winter, I have no confidence that our borough's snow removal and de-icing efforts will be any better this year.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before I found my own solution--ice cleats. Coming home last week, I ran into Joe, the mail carrier, and it dawned on me that he was the ideal person to ask about negotiating the treacherous ice. He took the time to show me his ice cleats, or ice spikes, and told me that the mail carriers were asked to try three different pairs and choose the most suitable ones.

"The Get-A-Grip brand were the best," Joe said. "They slip on the outside of your boots like galoshes. They were the easiest to put on, and they didn't slip off your feet like the other brands."

Bound and determined to purchase a pair, I tried Sports Experts the next day. They indeed carried that brand but were sold out. The clerk told me to come back in a few days; they were supposed to receive a new shipment. Unfortunately, by the time I got there, they were out of stock again.

One of my workmates found a pair with the cleats built right into the winter boot. With a key or pointed object you can open the cleats when you need them. She, too, confessed that the icy sidewalks downtown were causing her endless stress. After buying her cleats, she started walking to work again, enjoying the fresh winter air and sunshine.

I still have yet to find my ice cleats, but I will persevere.

If anyone knows where I can find some, please send a comment.