Well I don't follow pro cycling, to me it is two totally different worlds between watching something and doing it. There are hardly any adults around me who bicycle and the closest bike shop is over 35 miles away (I don't have a lot of peer pressure to be a Lance Armstrong look-a-like). After hardly touching a bike for 8 years, I restarted a few years ago on a Huffy roadbike, wearing regular cloths. Gradually I adopted additional things that made sense to me (a non-dept store roadbike, a helmet, padded bike shorts, a bright shirt). I tried the devices that strap your foot to the pedals (for about a dozen rides) and decided to go with flatform pedals (I've never tried clipless). I just started using some weightlifting half-finger gloves that I found on clearance for $1, and I think I like wearing gloves. I know I would be considered "not-with-it" by some who are more seriously into cycling, but the non-cycling public that see me riding probably think I'm a bicycle geek.
My advice is to not worry about conforming to all the rules of the "elite" bike culture, but to take from it what is useful (and interesting) to you personally.