barefoot is the new black?

Kate and I braved the snow today to do some shopping, in hopes that President's Day would yield some sales that were of use.

It did, but neither of us really walked away satisfied from any one place. We tried a local outdoor store, Midwest Mountaineering, and REI of course, looking for a few things. Kate wanted her five finger shoes in the right size, and I wanted to try them on and see what I thought. I also had serious bike on the brain, and the Hub Bike Co-op is right next door to MM.

I'll let Kate expound on her own issues finding a pair of five finger or similar shoes that work for her, and stick to my own observations. I tried on a few Vibrams, as well as the Merrill Pace Glove, which uses the same working theory as five-finger Vibrams but does not separate the toes individually. That is one nice looking shoe, but on my feet the 38 was too big and the 37 was too small, so I was SOL. Too bad, because I love Merrills. The Vibrams on hand at MM were okay, but it wasn't until I tried a Bikla style at REI that I felt like I really understood what these shoes were trying to get at. Even in walking just around the shoe section, my legs and feet felt different. Not bad-different, but just different. I can see how they would take some getting used to, but I liked them. My step forward from here is to try to simulate barefoot running, perhaps with an old pair of flat-heeled Champion street shoes I have, to see if it helps me make a decision at all. Either way, whether I get a pair of new running shoes or new Vibrams, I'll be spending around $100 for a quality pair, I just have to decide which is the path I want to go down.



In the meantime, this bike was so. beautiful. And on sale! Still, more money than I have right now. But beautiful. My next step toward a new bike purchase is research, and the man at The Hub was kind enough to walk me through what I wanted without pushing me to buy anything.




Suggestions? Ideas?