The Things You Notice Going Barefoot (DUH!)

The ground is....dirty!
Trees drop stuff on it.
PEOPLE drop stuff on it (worse'n trees).
Sometimes it's freakin' hot.
Sometimes it's rough (OUCH).
Gee, grass is nice (for WALKING. Yeah, this is Hip Forums.)
People look at you like you're a Hobbitt reject.

 

Grass can be very deceiving! Especially in coastal areas where the grass is naturally harder and crunchier...I cut my foot pretty bad on GRASS! haha

 

Yeah, I've even got a Hobbit style outfit, collarless shirt, waistcoat and tweed 3/4 'plus fours'! Can't be a barefooter without getting into the Hobbit groove

 

its all fun and games till someone steps on a tack

 

I don't look like a Hobbit. I shave my toes.

 

:tongue:

 

Dogs lick your feet (well they do mine anyway)

 

floors around fridge aisles are freaking cold.
dirt of some country roads is as soft as talc.
some indoor floors tint your soles.
caltrop definitely spawns from hell :devil: (ouch)
snails' slime is so sticky that it takes alcohol or gas to wash it off.
some sidewalk tiles have a texture that makes them feel tacky on bare feet.
that butt end i just trampled on was still lit. no biggie.
earth under a tree is fresh.
even the most clean looking cities are damn filthy; countryside is just dusty.
in the almost total nightly darkness of a forest you can often realize what kind of trees is around you. pray that they're not chestnuts.
the color of your soles can tell you lots of things about the place.

 

I miss going barefoot, I need to toughen my feet again. There have been studies done that suggest people who go barefoot, have better knees than people who wear shoes. Makes sense to me.

 

Pizza shops might have flour-dusted floors. You'd never know if you had shoes on!

I was running just the other day and came across a stretch of sidewalk where the whole thing felt tacky, I guess due to the texture. It was a very odd sensation.

 

I noticed how many rusty nails there are all over the ground in my backyard.
I cleaned them up so i wouldn't step on them.

 

Natural rocks feel good to feet, but man-crushed rock on trails is the pits. Large roots are great for going up hill, feel good to the arch. Green moss feels soft, cool and moist. If you make a false step on a sharp rock, it is instantly healing to stand in cool mud. Soft, dry sand is inviting to wiggle your toes in and shuffle onto the top of your foot. A dirty foot is a healty and adventurous foot:

 

If You Haven't Already, You Should Check Out goodearth's

Pics In His Profile....

When Skateboarding First Started, It Was Always Done Barefoot.

It Was Invented To Provide Entertainment For Surfers When The Ocean

Was Too Dangerous To Ride, So They Rode The Sidewalks And Parking Lots.

Originally It Was Called "Sidewalk Surfing" And Like Surfing Nobody Wore Shoes.

As Time Went On The Name Changed To Skateboarding And The Trend To

Wear Skate Shoes Unfortunatly Emerged.



Cheers Glen.

 

and ANOTHER nice thing about going barefoot is that you always feel things differently! cooler, hotter, wetter, drier, sharper, smoother, whatever....NEVER the identical set of sensations!

 

Thanks for the encouragement, Glen. I'm happy you liked the pics. If you guys want to see a lot of my pics of what skateboarding was....and is today, check this out:
http://www.skaterscafe.com/showthread.php?t=32536
incidently.....my skateboard name is glidenhi

 

Sometimes you don't even notice when you step in a big glob of pine pitch.
Then you get pine needles and dirt all stuck to it. :biggrin:

 

My foot would just smash it.

Right all the way in

 

I must say, I've done a reasonable amount of skating, and not wearing shoes is not an option, depending on your style. From the impact to the (quite necessary) grip tape, short-boarding is not something you can do without proper skate shoes.

I do have a little firbeglass banana board from seventy-something, and I'm aware that at that time it would have been used barefoot, or with simple flat soft vans. I've tried it barefoot, and while it worked, it severely limited my nimbleness and fearlessness, shoes offer invaluable protection if you need to jump off. Or worse yet, if you actually crash.

I love my feet way too much to skate, bike, ect, barefoot. And I love skating and biking way too much to be slowed down by being barefoot and vulnerable.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Oh we used to fucking shred our feet on high speed dis-mounts lol
Still, there's nothing like casual boardin' barefoot on a clean, pebble-free sidewalk :sunny:

 

last time i crashed while bf, the main victim was my head :dizzy2:
explains a lot...