I've done a hundred-mile bike ride and a four-day, 320-mile trip from Radcliffe to Bude and cycled 6000 miles a year with ordinary trainers-plus-toeclips-and-cages, baggy cycling shorts and cotton t-shirts, not a hint of Lycra in sight, sitting on my well-oiled Brooks B17 leather saddle. In the good old days, I hasten to add. When you get off your bike to go into a shop (walking normally) you look like a normal human being. I can absolutely tell you that Lycra is not a cycling essential unless you're some kind of racing nut.