OnlineI get asked specific questions about these two outdoor activities all time in person and via email and I thought I would put a few here. If you have something you're curious about or have always wondered about, put it here and I'll make up an answer.
FAQ - Running and Bicycling - FAQ
Posted on: Tue, 10/07/2008 - 5:36pm
so who actually asks these questions, is it the reindeer dust makers? hardy-har
Question:
What's the deal with those funny-looking shoes you bikers wear?
Answer:
There's a lot going on with our shoes. They may look sort of *different* but they are very specialized. The designs of bicycle shoes have everything to do with power transfer, constant pedal contact, safety, and the ability to spin the cranks (efficient) rather than alternately mash the pedals (inefficient).
Back up a few years when the pro cyclists used a contrapion called a toe clip on each pedal. This was basically a metal cage and when used with a leather strap, it attached a biker's shoe tightly in place against the pedal and allowed for the legs to do a spinning type power transfer. This device also kept a racer's feet from sliding off the pedal.
There is a more popular version of this device:
These days, most of us "hard-core" riders use something called a clipless pedal system which uses a mechanical attachment to lock the pedal to the shoe. There are several attachment designs but all involve a stiff-soled shoe with a metal cleat screwed on the bottom. This snaps into a special pedal using a spring-loaded retaining device. Your foot is attached to the pedal until you unattach it usually by rotating your heel outward. You want to be attached to your pedals - especially during aggressive riding in the bumpy woods.
On my mountain bikes, I use Crank Brothers' EggBeaters titanium pedals. They don't look like much, but IMO, they are the best designed off-road system. I've used several popular designs over the years and the EggBeater pedal is the only one that works flawlessly in mud.
You can kinda see how everything fits together from the picture below. The 4-sided pedal is spring loaded and when you mash your shoe down on the pedal, it snaps over the brass cleat on the bottom of my shoe. Most people have never seen the bottom of a professional mountain bike shoe. Look below! Now you have! Whoopie!!
Most mountain bike shoes have an aggressive sole with hard tread lugs that allow great traction to dig into dirt while pushing your bike. My SIDI's also have recepticals for 2 spikes on each shoe that I use if the trail is muddy and I might be pushing quite a bit.
One tactic of mine when racing is sometimes jumping off my bike and running it up hills. It's usually better to stay on the bike, keep as much speed as you can so you don't have to gear down, and then pedal up the hills. But if there are several riders directly in front of you and all are slowly pedaling up the same steep hill, odds are at least one of them will spin out and cause a traffic jam. When I come up on a situation like that, without hesitation I hop off my bike, grab the handlebars and run it up the hill often passing the mounted riders who are pedaling up. This is a great way to pass a lot of riders at once. Running a bike up a hill full hilt is hard work and will red-line your heart. That's why a lot of riders don't do it. Since I'm a runner, I can recover from a near-max heart rate fairly easily after I reach the top and fling myself back on, click in, and pedal away.
Below is my road bike pedal and shoe. Same mechanical concept except on my road system, the spring retaining mechanism is in the shoe attachment and not the pedal. Note the plain sole on my road show. These shoes aren't meant for walking.
Are those your socks?
Yes! Sexy huh? haha! I have tons of wild bike/run socks. The flower is one of my my favorites and also my pair with the hula girl! Since trail riding is sort of a confident, extreme and grueling sport, I pick "interesting" socks as a contradictory statement. :) And yes - this time of year, I shave my legs because of the stick-tights in the woods. It's no fun trying to de-burr your leg hair after every ride.
diggin the shave advice comment. i wear mine natural as a mosquito deterent. for hitch-hikers/stickers that get caught on clothing i like using a pocket knife to skin/shave them off. i hate those things!
have you ever crashed or wound up in anything like poison ivy or i dont think you have cactus there, but things of that nature (pun, lol)? ive hit bamboo before and the baby shoots have fine black hairs that are a nightmare. like running into fiberglass dust, ugh.
I've had a few crashes - I don't count the ones where I don't get hurt or can't breathe for a few minutes! haha! i had to pull a pencil sized stick out of my leg but it didn't bleed.
Oh - the worst one was last year - I was going pretty fast over a rocky part, my front wheel got pinned and I was thrown off against a sharp rock. It almost broke one or both bones in my left lower arm. I lucked out because even though I was several miles from the trailhead and was able to ride out. Bleeding pretty badly at first but it had pretty much stopped (although swollen) by the time I got back to the truck. I had ice in my cooler in the truck so I iced it and took off my shirt and wrapped it to hold the ice pack in place. All the water washed all that dried up blood onto my chest and legs. I was a mess.
By the time I got home, I looked like I had murdered the occupants of a small town with a meat cleaver. I was almost covered in blood, didn't get a chance to take a waterbottle shower so what wasn't covered in blood was covered in dusty dirt. I looked like a bald BraveHeart. So I'm covered in blood and dirt except for my clean white feet, and all I'm wearing is my bike shorts and trying to sneak in the house holding my almost-broken giant arm. My wife catches me tiptoe-ing, she sees the mess that I am and screamed, "What the hell did you do???" I told her I had a small wreck.
Then she saw my arm and shook her head and said that I'm not ever allowed out of the house again.
Dear Steve,
How often should I wash my running shoes?
Answer:
Never wash your runners. Messes them up bigtime. If they smell, air them out. If they get wet, pull out the sockliner (important) and let them dry at room temperature for a day or two. Never, ever put them in a clothes dryer.
If they are just dingy and you want them clean, you're being silly - dirt on runners that have life left in them is a badge of honor. It doesn't take long for my runners to turn gray. I don't care about dirty shoes. I also like to see how many days I can wear the same shirt before roadside weeds wilt as I run by.
I do pay attention to foot hygene and wear clean socks (thin specialized running/biking) everytime so my feet always smell like two daisies. haha!
Here's a recent stinky feet story: I attend computer networking classes on Fridays and Saturdays and yesterday I did my usual 6-miler during our lunch break. I sit up front (wannabe teacher's pet) and I was getting sleepy and my feet were tired, so I kicked my shoes off. About that time I smelled this god-awful stench. I sit next to this cute geekgirl and I didn't want her smelling my stinky feet so I smoothly reached under and slid my shoes back on. A few minutes later, I still smelled it. It was terrible! Then I realized the smell was the instructor's black dry-erase marker he was using on the white board.
So yeah - wear clean socks and replace running shoes after 6 months of regular use and they won't smell - don't worry about what they look like.
Dear Steve,
Sometimes I see road-side trash when I run. What do think of adopting a section of road to keep clean?
Answer:
I'm all for it. Let's clean up the place. I pick up stuff all the time when I'm running on trash day and drop it people's (already emptied) curb-side dumpsters still next to the road.
However, sometimes you'll see a garbage bag tied off and lying in a ditch. I usually leave those. My logic is that someone tied that garbage bag off for a good reason. They also threw it out of their car rather than into their own dumpster for a reason. I approach garbage bags in ditches with caution. Even if you do pick it up, I don't recommend opening it. Let someone else make the news.
Dear Steve,
What is the best way to tie running shoes?
Answer:
Normally. Not too tight, not too loose. Criss-cross the strings like you always do. No fancy patterns. Most runners have two sets of eyelets close together at the top. Use the pair closest to the edge of the piping and don't use the farthest set. Tie in a normal shoe bow and then tie the bow loops once more with a single overhand knot to keep them from coming untied.
Here's something I do differently. With a pair of new shoes, I use a bow for a while and after the strings settle in and I find a tightness that's just right, I do away with the bow and use a triple square knot. Then I cut off the extra length of strings. Yes - I tie them in a knot. Then from there on, I don't tie or untie my runners - I slip them on and off.
Dear Steve,
What do you do when dogs chase you?
Answer:
The county where I live has a dog roaming law. Basically no dogs are allowed to roam. That being said, remember this IS Kentucky so no one follows silly rules like that. There are these two large, and very fast dogs on my bike route that would love to get a piece of my a**. Even though they're quick, a dog's energy burst is short compared to mine. They peter-out after about 100 meters at full hilt. I've not met my match in a dog yet. When these two guys come ripping out at me, I lay into a full sprint and always out-run them - makes for an exciting ride. Heaven help me if I ever go down around them. These dogs don't want to play fetch.
What if you can't outrun them? For the average Joe with a problem-dog on his bike route, I do not recommend pepper spray. Too much wind. The Dazer which is an ultra-sonic dog repellers does work. My dad also rides and he had a Dazer until he dropped it trying to get away from a deaf dog. A blast in the face with ice cold water from your bottle works too.
Kicking at a dog from a bike is stupid. If you don't wreck, any energy spent kicking should have been put forth into peddling away like a motherf**ker. Think of it as interval training. Also since the invention of CO2 inflators, no one uses a frame pump anymore unless it's for protection from dogs. To properly use a frame pump, pull the frame pump off of your bike, extend the plunger, grasp the biggest end and pretend it's a polo mallet. Dogs are smart and one good pop in the head and he might decide to end his bicycle-chasing hobby.
On foot? Do not run away unless it's a yapper. A large angry dog will give chase, tackle, and eat you. If the dog is stopped in front of you, stop running and calmly back up while still facing the dog. Be smoooooth, be sloooow but keep looking at the dog. If the dog is in a yard and looks threatening, again - stop, then keep walking while facing the dog. Don't ever smile at a threatening dog. Face him and slowly retreat.
On foot and a dog is running at you in full attack mode? One choice here. Turn and run TOWARD the dog while screaming and flapping your arms. It's worked for me before. It was a Rottweiler and he did back away quickly from my crazy outburst. Afterward, I was pumped and excited and was like, "Hoose yo daddy!!!" Then I got the hell out of there.