Luigi de Guzman wrote:
I don't wear padded shorts on my bike; I took it out for a fifty-odd mile
jaunt a bit ago and my lungs and legs hurt more than my perineum.

There's always people that say this....

The main benefit of cycling shorts, I find, is the decreased chafing (from
repeated pedal strokes). The padding is an added bonus, but not strictly
*necessary* if your bike is nicely set-up: good saddle, good position,
and so forth.

....in spite of the fact that most "cycling specific" shorts have the
padding. ....And most well-stocked bike shops (in the US anyway) will
sell them (as well as 20 or 30 different saddles).

-------

Saddle comfort is a major issue that a lot of riders have, and most bike
shops can't seem to solve it. If they could they'd only need to sell ONE
saddle, and they wouldn't bother sticking any padded shorts, because
nobody would ever want to buy them.

(synthetic shorts are still a good idea for the moisture-wicking benefit)
~