When the world is running down, you make the best of what’s still around.

That Police song from the early 80s is so true. When the world is running down, you do need to make the best of what’s still around. 

You don’t see as much of that spirit these days as people who run and ride so quickly replace worn out gear for fear of injury, chafing or whatever.

But there was a time not so long ago when runners and riders wore their best stuff until it literally fell off their bodies. Guys would show up at races in the same shorts, singlet and socks they wore the week before, and you could see they hadn’t washed the stuff because the same sweat stains were on the short. Then they’d kick your assess, smelling like an old locker room the whole 10k. You didn’t dare pass them for fear of puking in their wake.

Pissing off the primpy cyclists

Primpy cyclists. I know. I’m one.

I like the fact that today’s cleaner athletes all look dapper at the starting and finish lines. There’s a certain respect for the sport I guess, in dressing the part. And I’ve seen some worn out characters at races the last few years.

Even got beat once in a criterium by a guy wearing blue jean shorts. But I think he was wearing that anti-cycling gear on purpose. Just to piss off the primpy cyclists. And I loved him for that. Cyclists are definitely way too primpy and uptight in so many ways. Except for Jens Voigt maybe.

Early minimalism

Runners in the early days wore their shoes down until the shards on their feet were as minimally efficient as the minimalist shoes you pay dozens of dollars for today. I’ve shared that I once raced right through a sole of a pair of New Balance training shoes. The last two miles of a 20K I was running on a sock. Finished in 1:09. When the world is running down, you make the best of what’s still around.

Making it last

In college we wore our shoes 800-900 miles. No questions asked. But to preserve the heels we were wise and applied carefully appliquéd layers of athletic tape to make sure our shoes were level and the heels did not wear more quickly than they needed to. It worked. Athletic tape was tough stuff, made of cross-woven thread and stinky, like a bad hospital. But if torn off in small quantities and applied to the heels of a set of running shoes, it worked great to delay wear on the heels of expensive shoes. To this day I’ve never heard anyone else who thought of that. Have you? It would still work.

Threadbare wheels

Those of us who ride know that changing your tires before they become threadbare is wise, if you think of it. But as the miles wear on and the bike tires grow thin, you are somehow surprised that you’re suddenly getting flats every other ride. It doesn’t take a genius to look at your tires and know they’re worn thin. But the perverse optimist in all of us like to think we’ll make it a few more miles before they really need a change. Here’s a hint: When you hit the brakes and can see the fiber through the bike tire rubber, it’s time to change your tires. Continental. Bontrager. Michelin. They’re all the same. They wear out eventually. When the world is running down…

That goes with brake pads too. Metal on metal is not a good noise, and brake pads that thin don’t really count as brake pads. Not philosophically or legally.

Taking it too far

Of course I know a guy who drove his Toyota for 80,000 miles and never changed the oil. The goo inside the engine somehow still moved around and kept it from seizing. But not by much. Why it never burned completely off we can never be sure. Dumb luck I guess.

Protecting the unworn

Now when I retire my running shoes they don’t even look worn. They look like the new shoes I bought back in the 80s. I run on my midfoot so the heel barely shows any wear. But one thing we should never forget is that we wear out the insoles sometimes before the outsoles ever wear out. Still it seems a damn shame to put a perfectly good looking shoe into the closet. They’re laying all over my house, these unworn-out-looking running shoes. I know, people in China or Malaysia or Bangladesh could use those shoes, but don’t tell them. They’re the ones making the running shoes we Americans wear for 376.25 miles and then retire because they don’t feel quite right.

Pushup prices on shoes

It’s gotten a little insane on the price end of things too. Running shoes now cost $120 and we use them about 1/5 as much as we used to. The only thing that gets used less than a new pair of running shoes and has the same confined brand of utility is a pushup bra from Victoria’s Secret.

After all, there are only so many occasions when that kind of garment can be worn, and the damned things  are so expensive can’t afford to put much wear and tear on them. Both expensive running shoes and pushup bras are good for one thing and one thing only: Going forward for as long as the support holds out.

When the world is running down, you make the best of what’s still around.  Sure seems like Sting new what he was talking about. But then again, I think he is a runner. That was probably the inspiration for the song.