Cycling barefoot?

[PotomacCyclist]

I saw some guy riding a bike with platform pedals last week, barefoot. He was asking people for directions to Georgetown from Arlington, so I saw him while he had stopped. Why would you want to ride barefoot? The ridges on the pedals can’t be comfortable at all. He didn’t appear to be a homeless person, just a somewhat odd college student or 20-something with a backpack.

I’ve seen plenty of people ride in sandals or flip-flops. I’ve been known to do this while riding on CaBi myself. But barefoot? Count me out. I don’t need to get blisters from a 2-mile bike ride.

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[Terpfan]

@PotomacCyclist 27569 wrote:

I saw some guy riding a bike with platform pedals last week, barefoot. He was asking people for directions to Georgetown from Arlington, so I saw him while he had stopped. Why would you want to ride barefoot? The ridges on the pedals can’t be comfortable at all. He didn’t appear to be a homeless person, just a somewhat odd college student or 20-something with a backpack.

I’ve seen plenty of people ride in sandals or flip-flops. I’ve been known to do this while riding on CaBi myself. But barefoot? Count me out. I don’t need to get blisters from a 2-mile bike ride.

Hipster.

[Dirt]

I spent most of my late teens and early 20s barefoot. Still don’t remember why. Honestly I haven’t really been burdened for a need to have reason for most things that I do and have done, so I may not be the best person to be answering this question.

Rock and roll!

Dirt.

Editor’s note: This is a content-free post. I suppose I should have put this comment at the top of the post. D’OH!

[ShawnoftheDread]

I saw a young woman this morning riding her bike with those crazy froggy toe shoes. Not as bad as barefoot though. That guy’s asking for trouble.

[dasgeh]

I once had to bike somewhere and was wearing really flimsy flip flops. After about a block, I slipped off the flops and biked barefoot. It wasn’t as painful as I expected. It was only about a mile, though…

[jopamora]

Maybe he is a follower of Kane and is increasing his chi power?

[DaveK]

@ShawnoftheDread 27579 wrote:

I saw a young woman this morning riding her bike with those crazy froggy toe shoes. Not as bad as barefoot though. That guy’s asking for trouble.

I ride in my FiveFingers all the time to the gym and back. Not on metal ridged pedals though.

[Amalitza]

I’m pretty sure I biked barefoot as a kid– mainly because once the weather warmed up enough to not get frostbite, I did everything barefoot I could get away with. Including walking (and sometimes running) on gravel roads in July in the sun. The soles of my feet could probably have doubled as Kevlar by mid-May; they were most definitely blister-proof. Maybe he was channeling his inner 10-year-old?

[JeffC]

Minimalist shoes are all the rage. I own a pair of Vibram Five Fingers, three pairs of Merril Glove shoes, and a pair of Terra Planna Vivo Barefoots. I will wear these sometimes on a short trip to the subway (1.5 miles) but not on longer rides all the way to work (11 miles), for that I use my Adiadas Sambas or Keen sandals, no strapless bikes for me.

Last week at the beach I saw several people biking barefoot or with just flipflops. I suppose for short distances it is ok but barefoot strikes me as rather silly, especially given how easy it is is to injure one’s hands and arms when biking, the feet are even more vulnerable.

[Terpfan]

@acl 27592 wrote:

I’m pretty sure I biked barefoot as a kid– mainly because once the weather warmed up enough to not get frostbite, I did everything barefoot I could get away with. Including walking (and sometimes running) on gravel roads in July in the sun. The soles of my feet could probably have doubled as Kevlar by mid-May; they were most definitely blister-proof. Maybe he was channeling his inner 10-year-old?

I did the same, usually en route to the neighborhood pool or up the street to a friend’s house. Retrospectively, I have no idea why I didn’t just put on a pair of shoes. I’m impressed I never hurt my feet that way on the mountainbike. Especially since I remember we jumped curbs routinely and would take a short cut through the woods.

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