Don't be so hard on yourself. Getting to know you from your posts, you seem like a genuine, kind person. No artifice or pretense (in my book, that's a very positive attribute). Now you just have to see that in yourself.

You're a "real" cyclist and you definitely are not a "poser." Try not to worry about what other people think and just enjoy your time on the bike. If people give you a hard time about superficial things (clothing, equipment, etc), they probably aren't worthy of your company.

And Gray, in Morgantown, anything goes (if it hasn't changed too much since I graduated in '85).