God you all are so young!
It's "toe clips and straps", which were the state of the art for racing for years, like a century or so. "Clipless" were introduced by LOOK in 1990. They were based on the idea of ski bindings and revolutionized the sport- they're so much more efficient that speeds went up. There were already super stiff shoes, and a cleat that fit over the pedal spindle and gave better power transfer, but the LOOKs really blew the cycling world away.
Clipless is the pedal, cleated is the shoe. After the cleats have been put on.
And it's still OK to use clips and straps with beartrap pedals and stiff Mt shoes if the clipless make you crazy. I think everybody should learn them, they make clipless easier to transit to. The first really high end bike I bought in 1996 came with clips and straps. They aren't at all obsolete- but shops make more money pushing clipless pedals onto people who may not be ready for them. They're good for injury recovery, you can pull the strap out or set it really loose for rehabing tender bits like knee surgury.
Suspension forks came out in 1990 also- as a safety thing, not for comfort. Good suspension will save you from some ugly experiences. Most people don't realize what a great safety factor it is.

missliz