cool spruce, i think the control freakism going on these days (and yes, i think it's getting worse in some ways... but i think it's cause it goes in cycles) is due in part to so many people refusing to live by societal standards, whether it be the crazy new age folks, the crazy barefooters, psychotic gay people wanting to get married, or any other "abnormal" group of folks. i firmly believe that all things go in cycles, and we happen to be in a freak out portion of the cycle. people are rebelling against the societal norms, much like happened with the hippie movement back when, the grunge movement of the early nineties, and many other such things. and with each movement, a higher level of accepted societal norms comes along. it's just intensely uncomfortable in the process. we are spiralling upward in our societal evolution. it's bound to be some work involved.
back on the barefoot driving note, my bf was horrified that i don't keep a pair of flipflops handy "in case i get pulled over" and i happen to be barefoot. he completely believed it was illegal, and made me look it up to prove to him that it's not illegal in any of the 50 states, unless driving a motorcycle. to which he replied 'well only a psychotic person would barefoot on a motorcycle.' which led me to question... do any of you hardcore barefooters, or other hardcore barefooters you know ride motorcycle barefoot? i'm interested now!
I drive in flip flops. I definitely see your point, it took me awhile to get used to driving in them. But I do feel that I drive safely with them. They've never slipped off. I actually drove the other day in 3 inch heels, another thing I've always done just fine, and I had to get used to taking the heel into consideration again. It's more like driving with your toes with your foot arched up, while driving in flip flops uses the ball of the foot more. After that, I realized I prefer to drive in flip flops. I even took my driver's test in flip flops, the instructor didn't say anything; I must not have been the first.
Last summer I somehow got an old Vespa scooter as part of a trade and I rode it around town barefoot sometimes. I got a ton of crap from the rednecks up here about riding the scooter, but strangely nobody said anything about me being barefoot on it. Nowadays I drive barefoot as much as I can. I have to where big steel toed boots at work and as soon as I clock out of work its barefoot for me.
I wonder, if people will think "Vespa?? That's not a real motorcycle...". And others might have the picture of a large, heavily-motored Harley or such in mind... however, scooters are perhaps the best rides, when it comes to barefooting, as you can put your barefeet up comfortably on the large footboard. The construction also provides a little crumple zone, should it come to a fall with it (Goddess forbid! But I guess people might give you the "safety" argument, when it comes to riding that thing barefoot). But, it also can look cool... Here's proof from a German barefooting web site: I stick to riding the bus, tram, subway and trains barefoot over here. wiggling toes, ~*Ganesha*~
awwww, that picture made me miss my vespa i had when i was living in europe! it was soooo much fun! never rode it barefoot, though i wore sandals a lot. and ugh... i just cannot imagine barefooting in rome. well, some places yes, but most places, oh hell no. soooo gross and dangerous.
Where have you lived that it's illegal to drive barefoot? And with sandals? Virginia is known for some strange laws but I don't believe this is one of them. Must have been other places.
I miss my Vespa, I should have kept it. The people up here used to look at me pretty funny, a 6'2 230 pound bearded guy riding around on a P200 barefoot or sandaled in 40 mile an hour winds with pilots goggles on.
Very well thought out post. Thanks. As you can see by my age, I've lived thru a few cycles ! For good or for bad. We're near the bottom of one (public barefooting) while being at the top of another (shorts, any time of year, especially for us guys.) And another one: flops are now more OK than any time I can ever remember, instead of shoes, and for a longer time of the year. And I think a lot of other things are more liberal now, as well. Odd how the barefooting thing is pretty much locked right now. Really locked. I know there are other issues than this, as you bring up in your post.
I sure wish I had a Vespa, my chinese scooter died a couple of months ago. Never did I go barefoot when riding it, usually wore clogs to provide minimal protection. Hey anyone: Do you need a motorcycle endorsement for a Vespa such as the one above? That's a really nice bike!!
Everywhere I have ever lived you are required to have the cycle endorsement for anything 50cc and above. The one that I posted earlier in the thread was 200cc so I should have had the endorsement, but I never got around to it. I live in such a little podunk crappy town that nobody really bothers you as long as you appear legal. I never even got around to getting plates on it. I rode it all last summer on expired Colorado plates.
haha well actually I protested against war in rome some years ago and went in barefoot. well there were loads of people staring and they were right because of all that glass from broken beer bottles, everywhere. at some point i found myself on a sidewalk literally covered with sharp glass shards but i managed to thread on them at 0 injuries cost so i guess im ready for my new career as a fakir but the most annoying thing in rome is *not* the filthy sidewalks glass etc, it's the naziskin assholes who *always* are there to harass protesters and drive them into riots who also seem attracted a lot by bare feet when choosing the target of their insults and provocations. and according to the news things are going worser and worser. [OT] since the last elections here in Italy we are facing a wave of aggressions carried out by neo-fascists, always in groups, most times against singles, almost always with weapons, luckily no firearms thanks to the italian gun laws, and luckily no deaths so far. >90 aggressions in a few months. and all the official media silenced about that except a few newspapers that are nearly about to close (that's the real power of mr. berlusconi, a man which doesnt feel ashamed if the crowd calls him "Duce" - no hype, it's true ), even in cases where political activists have been literally driven out of road with their cars and stabbed. police brutality going rampant with reported cases of torture. one just yesterday, involving a whole gypsy family arrested for no reason, beaten in jail,both women and men, with the usual treatment which involves drowning, humiliations and sexual assaults. sorry for the OT but these are things that hurt a lot and no one seems like to give a damn about that because you know, a lot of italians and i mean A LOT are just plain racists, xenophobes, homophobics, declared fascists or all of these things. but in my personal experience the ones who are more proud of calling openly themselves "fascists" are police officers. [/OT]
When I wear flip-flops and drive, I always take one off and prop it on its shoe. It's foolish to drive in flip-flops. My brake pedal feels really cool, but weird underfoot. It's got these squishy ridges that don't seem like a good idea... They are vertical and seem like they could cause the foot to slip off the brake if the pedal was wet. Oh well, it helps to use it barefoot.
Speaking of barefoot driving, i remember it was not unusual for racing drivers to race bf because they believed it improved car control in the days before the fire regs required fire resistant clothing. Denny Hulme (NZ saloon car racer) and John Cooper (F1) spring to mind.
