It's not the gear.

[kairos12]

Out on a rugged trail this morning I was passed by a dude riding a tricked out mountain bike. He had all the trendy clothes and a GOPRO on his helmet. Nothing unusual.

A couple of minutes another guy sped past me. His gear included a straw hat and what looked like some version of PF Flyers.

Also, he was riding a unicycle.

Gives me hope.

[Diamond_Dog]

3. I remember Red Ball Jets.

[murielm99]

6. Steve Goodman had a song about Red Ball Jets.

[rsdsharp]

7. So do I. When I was a little kid, I had very flat feet.

I had to wear custom made stainless steel arch supports, and really ugly high topped brown lace up shoes. I couldn’t wear tennis shoes or cowboy boots, even though every other show on TV was a western.

I wanted Red Ball Jets more than anything. Finally, when I was eight or nine I was able to get a pair. I still remember getting out of the car and running up the lawn toward the house after getting home from the shoe store with my new treasures.

[Diamond_Dog]

8. What a bummer. I'll bet you hated wearing those shoes!

I also had flat feet as a kid and for a few years had to wear custom made hard plastic shoe inserts inside my shoes. Back then tennis shoes were only worn for outdoor play or gym class, so I also had to wear leather shoes while in school (although my mother just bought them for me at a shoe store). I remember we went to the New York Worlds Fair back in the 60s and with all the walking, those shoe inserts gave me horrible blisters.

[rsdsharp]

9. The shoes weren't bad to wear, but they were ugly.

The arch supports were a pain in the. . . feet. They would gradually loosen up, so every few months we went back to the podiatrist to have then tightened back up, at which point I’d get blisters until a callous built up. I still have one of the arch supports sitting on my dresser.

[alfredo]

14. I lived in tennis shoes. My parents were not too keen on spending money, so

I had to cut off the front of my shoes to allow my feet room to grow.

[cksmithy]

15. One pair of dime store sneakers

was our school shoes for the year. Toes wearing through the canvas fabric. It was awful. We also got summer flip flops and had one pair of shoes to wear to church. As a family of 8, we were very poor.

[alfredo]

16. I had an older sister and upkeep on her was quite steep.

[stopdiggin]

5. Thanks. Absolutely spot on. And your prose made my day. -(nt)-

[yonder]

10. It's not the duds, it's the determination.

Many years ago, me and a friend were riding up a long, steep trail that gets steeper halfway up and steeper yet towards the end. We were gassed so took a break. Below us comes a rider steadily climbing up and as he approached, we gave him a winded "how's it going"? In reply, he gave us a strong, Tony the Tigerish "GREAT". As he powered by and to our surprise, we saw he was riding a beater single speed, maybe a fixie, no clips and no fancy gear. We watched, totally amazed as he climbed through the steepest part, around the corner and out of sight.

We later found out from my biker daughter that that is what this fellow does: rides our foothill trail system, making impossible ascents on old bicycles and for long rides, it's often on a gravel bike of some sort.

My friend and I were somewhat fit back then, much less now but if bikes come up in conversation, this story is often brought up. Just goes to show that "run what you brung", "function before form" or even Nike's "just do it" have some truth about them.

Like you said, "Gives me hope" and thanks for the post.

[kairos12]

11. I once ran a marathon

and the guy ahead of me had a shirt that read:

“Fat, diabetic, and ahead of you.”

Never forgot it.

Thanks for your reply.

[yonder]

12. Both your OP and this one offer great pictures.

Love the t-shirt.

[niyad]

17. you nearly owed me a keyboard.

[alfredo]

13. I had a friend that rode up to the base camp on Everest on a unicycle

Yep crazy as a two dicked billy goat

[niyad]

18. Thanks for this uplifting post.