Well played Ms. Mountain biker

[ajb422]

Fun conversation of the day.

Setting: Me and four mountain bikers are standing by a trail head debating about whether to risk getting a ticket because apparently it's been closed since the floods here like three weeks ago. I'm in my huaraches.

Me: Well I guess the do patrol closed trails because I did get scolded by a cop when I went on another closed trail awhile back. I talked my way out of the ticket though

Mountain biker 1: Maybe a young girl can get away with that but I got a ticket on El Moro once.

thoughtful silence

Me: so uh how much was the ticket

MB1: it was around 170 bucks (look of total annoyance at the memory)

Me: f*ck thats a bit more than I'm willing to pay for a run

MB2: yeah no kidding you could go buy yourself new shoes for that

Well played well played. Thats probably the first comment about my footwear that quite literally made me laugh out loud.



On a totally unrelated note I also got a dirty look from a VFFer today when I was bf. Seriously, I expect occasional looks of disgust from old heavily shod people and bikers but a VFFer should understand.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

MB2 funny guy.Return the

MB2 funny guy.

Return the look they give you, then cap it off with a big smile. ;-) Confuses the sh!t out of 'em everytime.

 

[khyricat]

Heh.. Some people are

Heh.. Some people are strange.. but no.. the ticket wouldn't have been worth it to me either.

apparently one of my cousins has been looking into VFF but wouldn't even THINK about barefoot- for walking or running. When I posted on facebook that I was running barefoot she wanted pics of my VFF to help her decide about getting them. That led to an interesting discussion..

 

[ajb422]

 I do understand that some

I do understand that some people will not want to go barefoot and I can respect that even if I don't understand it, I just don't get the need to give people dirty looks for barefooting when you are doing something "barefoot-inspired". I'll take TJs advice if I ever see him again .

 

[Barefoot Larry]

Let us not forget our motto:

Let us not forget our motto: "Changing the world, one odd look at a time" be suprised when you don't get odd looks. I didn't get any odd look at the Disney half, but then again when I pass people I don't look backwards

 

[JosephTree]

I'm going to throw in a word

I'm going to throw in a word from the other side: some of us are so myopic that we screw up our faces into what looks like a scowl when we try to focus. so, it's not criticism in our look, it's elevated interest. Maybe, anyway.

 

[ajb422]

 LOL so instead of being

LOL so instead of being tempted to tell him to take off the VFFs and really run barefoot I should of told him to get glasses. I like it.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

But I look like that all the

But I look like that all the time, JT. :glasses:

 

[saypay45]

I've noticed that a lot of

I've noticed that a lot of the new crop of VFF wearers are a little snobby. These are the ones that went to the store looking for "barefoot shoes" after their friends all got a pair of pink ones to match their running skirts. They don't do any research on the topic, and walk around like God's gift to biomechanics.

Whenever I try to engage these people at a race or something, I always get snubbed. Although it could be because I approached them with the line, "Hey, want to learn how to save $90 the easy way?!" I meant by taking their shoes off!

 

[ajb422]

saypay45 wrote:  Although it

Although it could be because I approached them with the line, "Hey, want to learn how to save $90 the easy way?!" I meant by taking their shoes off!

lol I might have to steal this line. Of course in Orange County I think people actually ENJOY spending money just for the hell of it. Spending the 90 dollars makes them all the more appealing to them.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Hysterical.  Yea, that might

Hysterical. Yea, that might do it, SP. Chase 'em off with sarcasm. Mokie and I have done this a few times at various races: We will flank someone running in VFFs, and Mokie or I would say, "Like your shoes." Then they'd look down at their shoes and see ours barefoot next to theirs. We always smile real big at them though. Ah, camaraderie.

 

[barefoot kean]

ajb422 your story made me

ajb422 your story made me chuckle, well played.

 

[stomper]

ajb422 wrote:On a totally

On a totally unrelated note I also got a dirty look from a VFFer today when I was bf. Seriously, I expect occasional looks of disgust from old heavily shod people and bikers but a VFFer should understand.

I've noticed that a lot of the new crop of VFF wearers are a little snobby.

Is it just me, or has reaction to running BF (I mean truly BF) been changing? In my town, less people are making comments than before. But when they do make comments they are a bit less friendly. I think there are fewer people than before that are simply confused and/or amazed by it. I'm really missing the people who just said "Huh?" or "what?" Now the ones that make a comment seem to assume something about me. That I'm a devotee of McDougal's book, for example. Or that I've tried Nike Frees and didn't like them. Or that my feet are cold. None of which are true. I imagine that some new minimal footwear wearers are a bit intimidated by BF runners. They were attracted to the idea of a more natural stance or whatever, but they're more aware than anyone that they're not going the whole way? Which contributes to a weird sort of resentment? Anyway, I'm just feeling sad because I haven't really shocked anyone with my BF running in a while. Gonna miss the notoriety.

 

[ajb422]

Mostly all I get are "have

Mostly all I get are "have you tried those shoes with toes". I actually am beginning to hate that question alot. I get it even more when I wear my huaraches. It just leads into a longer discussion than what I really want to have most days. People are more afraid to talk to me when I'm completely barefoot and I'm sort of learning to like that.

But overwhelmingly the response is positive. I get alot of big smiles and they seem more like "omg its a real barefoot runner" than "haha look at that nutcase". I also get alot of "how long have you been doing that" or "I hear thats really good for you" ect.. Hobby bikers, walkers, and older people are the neverending chorus of "doesn't that hurt". I've taken to keeping my music up loud enough that I can't hear anything they say after I read their lips and get my good morning reply. That way I don't have to be tempted to stop and explain how really it doesn't hurt and its good for me yada yada yada.

I rarely get an actual disgusted look though. I guess thats why the VFFer took me SO off guard. Of all people uzzled:

edit: actually road bikers give me dirty looks all the time, but I'm immune to those. They spend so much money on their bikes it really doesn't surprise me that they think I'm nuts for not buying a 200 dollar pair of running shoes.

 

[stomper]

Oh yeah, those road bikers!

Oh yeah, those road bikers! As a group I would say they are least likely to smile at me, and I've gotten a few really nasty comments from them.

Also, I think I've noticed a difference between sexes. I would say that women are more likely to say something about my feet than men, and also less likely to give a positive reaction. There's no question I get "whoa, hard core, dude" cred from some males that see me. (Of course they don't know that running BF is easier on my body than running shod.) Women tend to be more skeptical and ask questions. Does this make them smarter? Or are they laboring under some submerged patriarichal illusion that their bodies need to be "protected"?

So, generalizing, here's a hypothesis: the people most likely to be offended and/or nasty are the ones with large investments in their gear.

The people most likely to give me the "whoa dude you are rad!" shout out and high-five are, say, 29-year old guys without female companionship.

And the person most likely to pull over his Tri-Met bus and give me a honk and a thumbs up on the public dollar--well, there was only one of those, but it was definitely a special moment.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

I pass cycling groups all the

I pass cycling groups all the time (rather they pass me in the opposite direction or come up from behind me), and they always have supportive, positive comments for me, but I do understand this thinking: the people most likely to be offended and/or nasty are the ones with large investments in their gear.