It was windy and rainy this morning. I got out for a quick scoot before work and I did my scoot commute today but it wasn't a super active scooting day. In the photo above the sculpture, known as the Zephyr, is whirling away in the wind.
Since I don't have much to report today in terms of scooter journeys, I'll fill the blog space by talking about my favorite new pair of shoes, Merrell Trail Gloves. The Trail Gloves are one of the minimalist style shoes inspired by the philosophy of less is more in the "barefoot" running movement and the best-selling book Born To Run.
The Trail Gloves have a very flexible Vibram sole and while I'm really not a runner, I got them for walking around and I'd read this article on letskickscoot.com which spoke of the virtues of a flexible shoe for scooting.
After scooting in my stiffer soled Keens and my more flexible Trail Gloves, I can report that more flexible shoe really does translate into faster, more efficient scooting. I've also found I really like the Trail Gloves as a general walking shoe.
Since the Trail Gloves are minimalist, I feel more connected to the ground when I'm walking, more connected to the scooter when I'm scooting and I can flex and push off with my toes better than I can with a stiffer shoe. Also since the Trail Gloves are just plain trimmer all around, they take up less space on the scooter deck, so I have more options in placing my feet.
I still prefer my stiffer soled Keens for bike riding, but for scooting and hiking, these days the Merrells are seeing the most miles.
Keep 'em rolling,
Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson
Issaquah, WA USA
2 comments:
Kent, just to sidetrack from scooting, have you tried much biking in the Merrells, and if so, on what pedals?
I picked up a pair of Trail Gloves on some super-crazy closeout deal over the winter just because they felt like they were made for my flipper-shaped feet. Like you, I enjoy walking around in them (I don't run anywhere unless I'm being chased by something that intends to eat me) but haven't put bike miles on them yet.
My thinking is that they should be OK on wide, flat BMX pedals with not-terribly-sharp pins (like the VP-565s I favor), but we shall see.
I've biked with them on old Deore XT pedals I have on my Allant and they're OK but the pedals that they totally rock on are the big Ergon pedals I have on the Octocog. The Ergon pedals are basically like a skate deck and work great with the Merrells.
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