I vote for a good stiff shoe for road riding also. Here's why. On my bike tour in June I stubbed my little toe on a parking lot bumper. I pulled it so far back that I thought it came off. I was in so much pain that I couldn't put any weight on it. I thought I would be riding in the car the rest of the week. A podiatrist was on the tour and he checked it, said nothing was broken and if I could keep the swelling down I could ride provided I had a good shoe. He said the Sidi's were so supportive that they were as good as having a surgical boot!

It turned out my cycling shoe was the only thing I could wear comfortably. So for 3 or 4 days I wore my cycling shoe everywhere! I even slept in it because it helped to keep the swelling down. I was able to ride every day and got lots of questions as to why I was wearing the shoe but it saved my trip.

BTW, I have speedplay pedals and the wider platform helped to keep the weight off the toe. I don't have covers for my cleats and I walked everywhere with that shoe on. The cleats are no worse for the wear. I guess that I've had speedplays for so long that walking in them all the time did't bother me a bit.

I'm so glad that I had to buy good supportive shoes and my speedplays, otherwise my tour would have been ruined.