I confess to liking some of the accouterments of "serious" cycling. Some items have joined my list of "indispensable" touring toys. As much as I miss the carefree days of riding in whatever shoes I was wearing, I find that for multi-day tours in hilly terrain, a shoe that bonds you to the pedal is too great an advantage to pass by. Similarly, for years I toured in T-shirts. Now I wear a long sleeved jersey. It's much cooler (temperature!) when the material next to your skin draws away moisture and protects your skin from the sun. Also, both my touring bicycles have aerobars. After a couple of hours gripping the handlebars, my hands, arms, shoulders, and neck appreciate a change. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I would not be able to take extended tours if it were not for aerobars.

Maybe I look like a cycling geek in my cycling shoes, jersey, and aerobars. But for me, it's all about comfort!