I'm a riding noob.. so I have leather workboots (elastic sided), kevlar lined jeans (a bit too long, so they cover my ankles nicely) and a normal commuter riding jacket with plastic armour and whatnot. Oh, and matching armoured gloves.. cheapo open-faced helmet with visor though. Given they're essentially 'single use', I figure I don't want to 'use up' an expensive helmet while learning! Then again, I'm only riding in traffic and on some pretty major roads.

I'm with Allen on the shifting, I only use the heel side to shift while it's cold and stiff.. once it frees up it's toe all the way.