... the fancy shoes and special clothing thing to ride a bike to the shops makes me think....
It makes me think that words like 'fancy' and 'special' have no absolute meaning. In the right context any or all clothing and shoes might be considered 'fancy' or 'special'. The implication is presumably that whatever clothing you might otherwise wear is somehow 'normal' rather than 'special'.
Apologies if this is b. obvious, but 'Normal' (or 'usual') for you is whatever suits you best. Otherwise you are in danger of simply pandering to other people's idea of what 'normal' is, aren't you...?
To quote Fox Mulder "How do you define normal?"...
Actually normal for me isn't what suits me best. Normal for me is what society believes is within acceptable bounds of "normal". i'd go so far as to say that this is probably the case for most people. For those of us on days we're not working, and not doing anything unusual, we're probably wearing jeans or similar trousers.
If Normal for me was what suits me best, I'd probably wear a lot fewer clothes.
While you are right that it all depends on your frame of reference, I think there is some agreement on what counts as "normal" western dress...
'Normal' is susceptible to both the winds of fashion as well as practicality; FWIW it is not so long ago that 'normal' shoes in some parts of the world were wooden clogs, for the simple reason it was 'normal' for the streets to be awash with not-very-dilute sewage.
Yes, Normal is a moving target. At the dawn of the safety cycle, the clothing I would have worn to cycle in would be drastically different to what it is now. Because fashion changes. In those days the bike helped feed into the rational dress movement. An attempt to redefine "normal" redefine what fashion dictated a woman should wear.
Yes, there was a time when Pattens were the norm. Tho I don't think any of us are old enough to remember that first hand. That said I do know a few people in these parts that still wear wooden shoes... Tho they are not "normal" wear.
Today I cycled to the police station. I wore a skirt, and tights, and a tshirt type top. On my feet I had a pair of leather slip on shoes with a 30mm heal. This is normal for me. Based on the gender make up of this forum, it's very much not normal for most here...
I have on various occasions had the kit conversation with newbie cyclists. I tend to say something like: "Of course you don't need any of this stuff to ride to the shops, or even for rides of a couple of hours, but since I'm a Keen Cyclistâ„¢ who does long rides in unpredictable weather, I've got a whole drawer full of mildly tatty or badly-fitting bike kit that I might as well use. Plus if I wear the cycling stuff it reduces wear on my civvy trousers and the saddle sores from the weekend's Silly Bike Adventure won't complain as much."
If pressed further, I suggest that legwear of a vaguely sporty disposition and a decent set of gloves are generally a good idea, but to only go out and invest in more cycling-specific stuff when you feel it might actually be useful. Most people seem to appreciate that.
This is kinda almost the point I was trying to convey in the what pedals thread. There are many who feel the need to push special cycling shoes on newbies in order for them to be a real cyclist. It's all part of the uniform. And for many who just want to ride a bike, and have fun, it's a bit much. If drivers were treated the way that cycling industry/cyclists treat newish cyclists, then when you go to the car dealer to buy a car to do the shopping, you'd come out with a car with a scaffold frame in the back, FIA approved fuel tank, a Nomex suit, and a helmet with HANS device. All to drive the 3km to the shops.
The typical cyclist in the UK is perhaps one on a racing bike wearing lycra and funny shoes.
The typical cyclist in the Netherlands is probably wearing jeans, high heals, and riding an Oma fiets that most Brits wouldn't even consider road legal.
The later is much more the sort of setup for going to the shops. Maybe even for riding out on a Sunday afternoon to have lunch and enjoy the sunshine. If you wanna do everything in an Ariel atom, sure, go for it. But maybe we should appreciate that it's perhaps not best for most people, and certainly not Normal...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_mJNRf8iOo&vl=trJ