Posted by: "B Merritt"

> I'm a brand new trike rider, and I'm experiencing some pain in the
> balls and under-arch of both feet.
>
> I'm very new, and experienced this pain on the first ride. I've used
> different shoes - Merrell mocs, Nikes, etc, and have found no
> difference. I keep the pedals adjusted so that there is just a small
> crook in my knee when the pedal is fully extended.
>
> Is anyone here familiar with this type pain? And any suggestions re:
> how to get rid of it? Different shoes,etc?

I had this kind of problem riding with SPDs and Shimano sandals. Tried
Lake sandals and it made no difference. The problem is caused by the
pressure of your foot deforming the sole of the shoe and pushing into
the foot directly over the pedal. And that's with stiff biking soles,
not the more flexible soles you are using.

Start by getting stiff soled biking shoes that can mount cleats and the
pedals to match. For recreation in the heat the Shimano sandals are
fine, many, including me, prefer them most of the year. For some that's
all that's needed. For others like me it takes more. I went from the
regular SPD pedals which transmit all the force through just the cleat
to Shimano M545 SPD pedals which have a large cage around the SPD
mechanism. This provided more support for the shoes thus minimizing the
deformation and thus the discomfort.

You can see the pedals on my Greenspeed GTR here:
http://wwknapp.home.mindspring.com/Greenspeed/my_gtr.html

The cleats bolted to the bottom of the sole have to be adjusted. I
suggest starting with the cleats as far back on the sole as they will go
and centered. Placing the cleats far back in the adjustment will load
your arches less, as you build conditioning you may be able to move them
forward a little bit. The SPD cleat is a recessed cleat, so walking is
no problem. I prefer the multi direction release SPD cleats to the
singles. If you find your joints don't move freely, adjust the cleats.
You really don't need a lot of play in the system unless your joints are
fairly unusual, but you do need them adjusted right for least problems.
The adjustment for trikes is different enough from uprights that you
have to experiment.

You should fiddle with your boom adjustment a bit. You might find having
the boom slightly farther out helps. Start from a position where your
feet set flat on the pedals with your leg extended but not locked when
the pedals are furtherest away. Or maybe very slightly closer.

It also helps to work on a little higher rpm in your pedal stroke in a
little lower gear for each condition. You are probably working too high
a gear a lot which increases the foot load. Do not be afraid to shift
gears a lot, match the load to your ability using gears. Your body
should see a steady load level.

You do want some form of clip pedals on a trike, if a foot slips off the
pedals while riding it's easy to end up with it sucked under the trike,
which will be a lot of injury. On a trike you won't have to unclip much
so there is no worry about falling as there is with two wheelers. You
can be more relaxed on a trike with clips.

Some of your pain, particularly in the arches may simply be your body
adjusting to the different way trikes are peddled. Going to clips is
going to help, gearing down and not mashing is also essential, otherwise
you will have knee problems crop up too. Do not rush conditioning, it
can take a couple years to reach the conditioning for max output.

Walt