bad ending to a great ride......
 

Well some buddies and I did a ride last week in Door county Wisconsin. Alot of fun riding along lake michegan.

Then about four days into the ride we were catching a ferry to one of the islands for a couple of days of camping. This was a small ferry and we had to lift our loaded bikes off when we arrived. As I was pulling my bike up the step to get it off one of the guys working on the ferry gave it a push from the bottom, when he did the large chain ring caught under the nail of my big toe and completely ripped the nail off. (yeeoww!)

We ended up still camping for the two days, and I did manage to ride my bike back to the car which was aprox. 100 miles away. It really was easier to ride the bike than walking.

Guess it just goes to show you that damn near anything can happen out there. Probably the worse thing was that there wasn't any medical facilities anywhere near. But I survived and a good time was still had by all.

ouch, makes me cringe just reading about it. glad you came out OK

What were you going on the ferry barefoot?

No,
I wasn't barefoot. I had on some cycling sandals that i've used for years, guess I should have said that. More than likely this wouldn't have happened with a regular pair of shoes on. Live and learn.

I sort of figured sandals. :)

Still a bad move to be around boats or any place heavy things are moving around barefoot or with sandals. Of course I should talk. I have been sailing for 20 years and should know better but I still sail and come into the dock from time to time, either sandaled or barefoot.

But to tell you the truth. An experience similar to yours is exactly why I have always been dead set against sandals. There are just too many things to stub or catch your toe on.

spinnaker,
I really couldn't agree with you more. Problem is that I really like the SPD sandals just because their so much cooler when its hot.

You got that right. That is why I have been soooooooo tempted to try them.

OUCH!!!! My son hit a rock or patch of sand in southern Bolivia and tumbled down - ripped his baby fingernail out in the process. YOWCH! Your toe is feeling better now?

Having seen a picture of what happens when riding with flipflops and your foot goes over the pedal and onto the pavement I'm dead set against wearing anything without covered toes while cycling!

I just got back to the US from a trip across Asia. Nepal and India were done entirely in sandals because it was bloody hot. I have all of my toes and nails intact. No use trying to scare people out of sandals. If you are careful there is not problem.

Just because you didn't have a problem does not mean sandals don't present safety issues. You can be careful and accidents still happen. That is way they call them accidents, Proper gear helps minimize you chance of injury but you must weigh risk vs. reward / practicality and make a decision. Wearing sandals in a hot environment has the reward of cool feet. You just need to figure out if it is worth the risk of injury to your feet.

SPD sandals are designed for clipping in and riding. They are very comfortable. I safely and comfortably used them on a coast-to-coast tandem ride. One sandal-like option with a bit more toe coverage is the Keen biking sandal. Rather than trying to protect my toes when putting my foot through the spokes, I simply keep my feet out of the spokes....

I hovered my mouse over the link to this thread, which showed me this ^ much of the first post.



My thought was that you dropped your fully loaded bicycle into the lake.

That's what I was expecting also! Not sure which is worse...

I wear Keen sandals that fully cover my toes but have vents on the side. Mine aren't cycling specific (I usually ride with platform pedals) but they make an SPD-compatible version.

And sorry to hear about the toe--I lost a toenail years ago when the tongue of a snowmobile trailer fell on my foot.

Massive cringe. I cannot remember how I did it, but I once ripped my entire pinky nail off and that was bad enough.

BTW...I too thought I was going to read that your bike ended up with Davey Jones' locker.

Oh, man ... that hurt to read!

Yes, who knows ... anything can happen on an adventure trip, hiking, riding, sailing.

I ride with Keen "sandals," if you want to call them that. Big, fat rubber bumper on those.

They give good protection.

Only problem I have with them is if you pick up a small rock, or even something really tiny, you just can't shake it out.

You have to take off the Keens to get rid of it.

I use mine for rides on my utility bike and when I'm on the boat.