I had always used some sort of toe clip or cleat and felt I HAD to have them. But then I managed to misplace my cycling shoes, so I climbed on my bike with my sneakers and made it - but hated it that first day! I ended up wearing my sneakers for a couple weeks before I found my cycling shoes again and by then I enjoyed the idea of being able to walk through a grocery store normally or being able to get to work and not having to change shoes the minute I walked through the door. Now I"m considering going clipless on our upcoming tour, but haven't decided yet.