At Long Last!!

[jbeegoode]

Rhinestones, diamonds or spikes?
Jbee

[reubenT]

as I recall from many years ago,  riding a bicycle barefoot has it's serious risks.   scraping the ground,   hitting weeds.  (with thorns)    I never tried the clip shoe type and always thought I wouldn't like them since with off road cycling a very quick foot movement for support is occasionally needed and I don't want them tied down in any way.

[eyesup]

Feet slipping off the pedal, usually happened when racing someone. If you were barefoot you ended up with no skin on the end of your big toe.

Duane

[Greenbare Woods]

I rode my bicycle barefoot all summer for several years from about age 7 to age 14.  I wore out several sets of pedals, bearings, tires, etc.  I never had troubles with my feet slipping off.  That's kind of silly.  Bare feet won't slip off any more than shoe feet.  Feet don't slip off the pedals. that's kind of silly.

[eyesup]

Rode my bike from the 1st or 2nd grade until I started driving. Same bike for 9-10 yrs.
Wore. . . it . . . out!

Clearly you never explored all the myriad ways a bicycle can be utilized.
There were so many more than merely pedaling from pt. A to pt. B.

If we were to have a race, how close can we put the finish line to that without hitting it?
If we ride as fast as we can, can we make it to the top of that pile of dead trees and clippings?
How many can we get on one bike?
How fast can you pedal while sitting on the rear bumper?
Can you ride a bike down the creek bed?
How fast can you pedal, and steer, while sitting backwards on the crossbar?
How far can you make it while standing on the seat?
From the top of the hill, can you guide the bike all the way home without touching the handlebars?
How high can you get the bike in the air using this ramp?

I'm sure I've not remembered all of them. Not accepting a challenge was worse than having an accident.
Yeah, pretty silly stuff! 
But a lotta fun!

Duane

[jbeegoode]

I don't understand the clip shoes, or being nailed to the seat, or wearing a cushion in my crotch instead of a springy cushioned seat (hmmm maybe those pants are better in a wreck). I've had several bikes since I was six. Wheelys, no hands, jumping, sliding to a stop, dirt back roads and trails, I want to be able to put a foot down and stand up. I don't like riding on the street. It's too mindless and putting my life in the hands of someone else is uncomfortable. Sidewalks are more fun. No more street bikes.
Jbee

[eyesup]

Wheelys, no hands, jumping, sliding to a stop, dirt back roads and trails, I want to be able to put a foot down and stand up.

Ohh, yeah!

Dismounting the bike while riding to see how far it will go on it's own. 
Who can lay down the longest skid marks from top speed. Sliding sideways, no hand brakes. Pedal brakes you could stand on!

Duane

[Greenbare Woods]

Clearly you never explored all the myriad ways a bicycle can be utilized.
There were so many more than merely pedaling from pt. A to pt. B.

If we were to have a race, how close can we put the finish line to that without hitting it?

Not that one.

If we ride as fast as we can, can we make it to the top of that pile of dead trees and clippings?

Rode through piles of leaves, but we lived in a desert so dead trees, not so much.

How many can we get on one bike?

Eventually the fenders got so beat up we left them off.  One on the handle bars and one on the seat is about max.

How fast can you pedal while sitting on the rear bumper?

My bike didn't have a rear bumper.  You can't get far sitting on the tire.

Can you ride a bike down the creek bed?

Irrigation canals when dry. 

How fast can you pedal, and steer, while sitting backwards on the crossbar?

I don't think I tried that either.  Standing up, but not facing backward.

How far can you make it while standing on the seat?

I did try standing feet on the seat.  Bare feet are good for that.

From the top of the hill, can you guide the bike all the way home without touching the handlebars?

We would ride around town, pedaling up and down, without using the handlebars.  Just lean to steer.   We would also sometimes put our feet on the handle bars and steer with our feet.  You couldn't pedal with your feet up though so it didn't last very long. 

How high can you get the bike in the air using this ramp?

I grew up before the "banana" bikes and BMX trick bikes.  We would occasionally get air off bumps on the sidewalks and other places.

I'm sure I've not remembered all of them. Not accepting a challenge was worse than having an accident.

My favorite arrival at home was to come fast down the street, enter our front yard through the neighbor's driveway, lock the back brake, do a 180 degree drifting turn across the lawn, and skid to a stop right in front of the porch steps.  There was a space about 2 inches wide between the concrete front walk and our wooden steps where my tires would drop into.  That would hold the bike up like a stand, and pointing back toward the direction of my friends house from which I had come. 

Then there was jumping off the bike while its moving.  Letting it go on its own around a large circle and leaping on again as it comes by. 

Yeah, pretty silly stuff! 
But a lotta fun!

Duane

Yep.

[Greenbare Woods]

Ohh, yeah!

Dismounting the bike while riding to see how far it will go on it's own. 

We would let the bike to in a circle and jump back on when it came by.   

Who can lay down the longest skid marks from top speed. Sliding sideways, no hand brakes. Pedal brakes you could stand on!
Duane

My bike had "New Departure" back wheel only brake. Wore out a lot of tires with the skids.

[jbeegoode]

When I was about 12, I was living in Paris. I searched the basement storage of every apartment in L'Petite Bourguard. I found a rusty old extended 20" frame and a couple of wheels. I cleaned and oiled and painted it a rich sky blue. Even got a decal from a model car kit. I ordered a banana seat and thick, but not knobby, tires from Sears Catalog for skidding. I had the coolest bike in the neighborhood and probably the only BMX/Scrambler style bike in the whole of Paris. It wasn't a bike, it was where I lived. About two weeks before I moved, it was stolen...crushing.

Biking has been a quicker more efficient way to get to some remote places than hiking, a sort of poor man's 4x4 and exercise for me. It has mostly been an in the moment, in the dirt, toy to play with. It is something that is limited as a nude conveyance, but will get me to "the spot".

I never rode that one naked. So where's the nude bike riding (NBR) thread?
Jbee

[eyesup]

I'm sure there is at least one here that does that.

Duane
 

[nuduke]

If you were barefoot you ended up with no skin on the end of your big toe.

Even sitting in my office at the computer that one made my legs turn to jelly and feel quite nauseous for a moment there!

John

[JOhnGw]

I'm sure there is at least one here that does that.

Duane

Me for a start.

[milfmog]

I use SPD pedals (that's Shimano-speak for a "clipless pedal", which as all cyclists know is one that your shoes clip into... You realise just how stupid all the names are when you write them down).

In case you lost the thread there, I'll try again; my cycling shoes clip to my pedals. This is a superb system and has never prevented my footing if required but does completely eliminate the risk of a foot sliding off the pedals. For me, naked cycling is usually not barefoot as clipless pedals are not barefoot friendly.

However, I also have a pair of old rubber pedals on which I have mounted a Shimano clip. These can be fitted to the bike if I want to use everyday footwear at my destination and do not want to carry shoes; naturally, they can also be used barefoot.

                                                                                                       

Now, back to the original topic. (Should I have written "And now for something completely different"?)

John,

Good to learn that you have finally found a spot that will work for a little free range naturism. They are out there. I have walked naked a couple of times in the county of your new residence. In fact, I can't think of an occasion when I have walked in the county and not been naked at least part of the time! Keep looking, you will find plenty more opportunities.

A large part of the trick is to be ready, my walking wrap is ideal as I can remove it (or replace it) with little effort so am far more able to make use of quick chances to get naked knowing that if I need to cover up I can. It is remarkable how often I am able to go far further than I imagine will be possible when I first strip off. My recent caching walk in Denmark is a fine example. The site is a well use park / nature reserve with a reasonable car park and plenty of well maintained and used trails. When I arrived, at around 15:00 on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, there were about 20 parked cars. I walked a couple of hundred yards from the car park to the first cache and, since I was a little way off the main path, stripped off to look for the cache. I then continued to the next cache, and the one after that. Over the next hour, I spotted about half a dozen other walkers or walkers groups and was easily able to cover up before I was seen. After that I saw no one for two and a half hours and just stayed naked, knowing that, should someone appear I could quickly dress. Had I been wearing shorts or trousers on arrival I would not have been half as confident of a quick cover up if required and so would have missed three and a half hours of glorious naked walking. I had a very similar experience last year in Morkery Woods (about half an hour from you?). Just another example of fortune favouring the prepared...

Have fun in your new spot, but do not stop looking for others,


Ian.

[nudewalker]

Memories! I often get a chuckle on social media when posts are made to the effect "if you rode your bike with out a helmet, didn't have a car seat, or your home wasn't childproof then share if you survived!". Bumps, bruises and scrapes were all a part of my cycling adventures before the coveted drivers license. We were lucky that one of our fathers was a certified welder and fixed many a broken steel frame!

I'm happy to see all the input from everyone concerning the pedal problems I had explained from a few years before. Before the trail was completed and soon after the rails and ties were removed the rail bed was passable using a all terrain bike. There was a stretch of about five miles that one was able to ride naked without chance of any encounters and I did it quite often for a few summers. I did not return to the scene of my naked hiking area last year mostly due to enjoying the kayak so much. I plan on doing a tune up soon and returning as I try to get my cycling shape back.

Now to return to "At long last". We finally managed to get the RV (caravan) out of winter storage in an attempt to escape the din of the mating cicadas! Being a weekend in a popular park the thought of any naked time was on the back burned plus there are always those pesky problems that crop up on the first trip of the year. Besides dealing with a faulty check valve on the hot water heater and an electrical problem all went smoothly and you will be happy to know that despite all some free range time was able to be achieved. I'll do a more detailed report with some highlights soon not that it was spectacular but some creative SN.