Balls of feet keep cramping up

[OakLeaf]

Are you wearing the same shoes you were when you used toe clips? Are you *sure* they're wide enough? I have wide feet too, and IME loosening the fasteners does nothing when the soles of your feet are wider than the soles of your shoes. The parts of your forefoot that are supposed to be weightbearing - the first and fifth metatarsal heads - are hanging over the edge at best (and getting irritated and turning into bunions at worst). The middle bones, that are supposed to be lifting your transverse arch, instead wind up bearing weight and causing all kinds of trouble with your foot mechanics.

If you're not sure, pull the insoles out and stand on them. If any part of your foot is hanging over the edge of the insole, your shoes are too narrow.

Yeah, I have wide feet, and I know WAY too much about this stuff. Sigh.

But those lollipop pedals are pretty small, too. A small platform kind of winds up doing the same thing, especially if your shoe has any flex to it at all - putting the weight onto the second and third metatarsal heads and making it hard for the outer bones to bear weight. I know swapping pedals is an expensive fix, but you might try Look, which is what I've always ridden.

Also, what kinds of foot exercises are you doing off the bike? Yoga? Toe skrunches? Myofascial release by rolling out or walking on pebbles? Other?