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With Hurricane Sandy bearing down on the Mid-Atlantic (The streets of Arlington, Virginia) earlier this week, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to splash around in some puddles and generally enjoy acting like a little kid on Monday afternoon. So I did what any self-respecting triathlete would do in high winds, pouring rain, and 40 degree temperatures—I suited up in my race wetsuit, swim goggles, aerohelmet and went for a bike ride in my Vibram FiveFinger Lontras. I convinced my friend Mark to join me and document some of the craziness (Did I mention I rode a tricycle at one point?).

Check out the photo journey after the jump!!

Getting ready to head out.

Realizing the neighbor kid left his tricycle out ...

... and the potential for awesomeness.

The photo op. worth getting cold and wet!

And with that we were off exploring.

Most roads and trail were clear but the wet leaves were a bit slippery on two wheels.

The mailman was even more excited to see us than we were to see him!

Lontras in action!

How did it go?

So how’d they do? I was surprisingly impressed at how well things held up. Even with a few full stops where I had to put my foot down in puddles several inches deep my feet were kept acceptably dry. When it comes to getting your feet wet in most models of VFFs, even the shallowest of puddles will seep through the toes. This is certainly not the case with the Lontras!

The neoprene liner of the Lontra doesn’t create an airtight seal between my ankle bone and the achilles tendon so I was expecting some water to be channeled down my legs and leak down into the heel. While this did happen to a small degree, I was most impressed with how warm my toes were throughout the whole 45 minute ordeal. While my fingers were chilled to the bone wearing inadequate gloves, my toes were nice and comfortable in the Lontras.

Now I’m looking forward to getting them wet and dirty on the running trails soon!

About the Author — I’m am a bicycle advocate by profession and an Ironman triathlete for fun which keeps me healthy and fit. I got into minimalist footwear during the summer of 2009 after dealing with injuries resulting from running in “normal” running shoes. Check out what’s going on in my life through photos at www.TimKelley.net or follow me on twitter: @TimKelleyDotNet. Get to know Tim better via his interview here.
Tim has written 19 articles and 28 comments.