Who would have guessed? Not me.
I dig riding on platform pedals. Well I do now at least.
Its an odd thing I tell ya.
It struck me on my pedal commute to work the other day. In the last 2 years I have logged more miles on platform pedals than I have since before I converted to "clip-less" pedals way back in the late 90s.
For real.
My first pair of clip-less pedals were Shimano M-737 (which is also one of Shimano's first clip-less pedal for the mountain bike crowd). I still have them in the parts bin.
I bought them on a "road trip" to Lawrence, KS to ride the LTR with a college buddy (still a buddy). I bought pedals at a bike shop who's name escapes me. But part of the idea at the time was the pedals were to go with my buddy's dope Adidas shoes that I was also gonna buy.
Those shoes were some of the coolest looking shoes I'd ever seen and I wanted them.
Unfortunately they were a couple sizes too small. Didn't stop me from doing my first couple of rides on my new pedals though.
But in the end it was just silly and I ordered a pair of Nike PooBahs (remember those?)
Those were great. I ended up burning through a couple pairs. Had a pair of Van's SPD compatible shoes as well.
Ah yeah the good old days.... haha!
Riding in clipless shoes for commuting seemed silly.
Epically once I was not living 10 - 15 miles from work.
When I started working for Midwest Cyclery in midtown KC and lived 5ish miles away it seemed kinda pointless
5 miles on the fixed gear with flat pedals and toe cages or some kind of pedal strap was the ticket.
I also stopped wearing chamois shorts as well
Then I moved to Des Moines, Iowa and my commute was under 4 miles, all 3 places I lived.
When I moved back to KC to help open the Velo Garage and Tap House in North Kansas City my flat pedal ways stuck although the commute got longer.
These days my love for Bedrock Sandals keeps me on flats all Spring, Summer, and into winter.
Granted I gave up flat pedals for #fixedgear riding. I always clip in for that. Or the occasional bike race or longer ride.
Summer is ending and again the question is... what will I wear once the Bedrock Sandals get put away?
Well kind of like last fall/winter I figure it out. I've got my very reliable 45 North boots that are SPD compatible
*10/01/2025 addition
Since my primary winter shoes are SPD cycling shoes I clip in all winter.
I did pick up a pair of 45 North winter shoes that are a little more casual looking and have yet to install SPD cleats just rock the flats with them. On my first ride with them it felt odd. Having a shoe that felt stiff, which gave the illusion that I was clipped in. So much so that my first fat bike commute in them was tricky cause I kept pulling my foot off the pedals thinking that I was attached. Nope.
We'll get there. Its the Fall of 2025 (JFC I started this post 3 years ago!) and my plan is to continue how I have for the last several fall/winters. Haven't had too much of an issue yet and since I don't have a choice but to ride (well I guess I can always walk or get the bus) I'll just keep on keeping on.
Fingers crossed it goes just as well as it has.
I'm sure worst case I'll tell ya about it. Ideally just not 3 years later.
