wow, a couple of things.
1. Who cares what others consider cool? I've learned in my last 4 months of biking that there isn't an in crowd and an out crowd. ESPECIALLY here. I've found the people here to be one of the most accepting groups out there. I started riding with a mountain bike my wife got me at goodwill that I rebuilt and rode about 200 miles prior to buying my next elcheapo schwinn varsity. I'm out right now for a wreck on said bike but I got 91 miles on in prior to the wreck. So, a bit under 300 miles, I'm no expert. I only ride 5-10 miles a morning when I'm not out with bruised ribs. As far as the stuff goes, cool doesn't apply to cycling. If I meet someone biking who has something smart to say, they're not the average they're just an ******* on a bike. Do what you like brother.
2. Pure awesome you've decided to cycle. I actually started for the exact opposite reason. I'm 6'5" and 184 lbs right now. I can't keep weight on and cycling seemed like a good idea. I have gained 14 lbs in 4 months and for me, that's pretty amazing. It's muscle weight too, I'm lean and other than my screwed up rib, I feel like I'm in great shape. It's also helping me to stop smoking.
3. If you can find someone to ride with, well one with a similar mindset, you'll enjoy it. I have a neighbor I've hung around with for years. He's one of my best friends now. I told him about my mountain bike project and he broke his 32 year old bike out of the shed. He repaired his at about the same time and we just started riding. We were doing 2-3 miles, then 5-6 miles. The day of my wreck we were planning 12 miles. I'm only a week from being back on the bike, and I think we'll hit 12-15 miles a day before the winter snow hits. We're both somkers though and both of us went from a bit more than a pack a day to half a pack or less each. It's seriously life changing.
4 Sheldon brown!!!! ... lol.... er... alright.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/ He's like the Charlton Heston of the NRA except instead of asking for money with little help, he's wrote an article on everything and in great depth. He passed away a few years ago but he contributed more to the cycling repair community than any one man ever has in my humble opinion. If you get in a spot and need to adjust something ,or wonder what replacing an item would be like, that's the place to go. I like to read there from time to time just to get more understanding. I grew up poor and couldn't ever afford bikes. I dug bikes out of trash piles to repair. I know a ton about bikes, but every time I go to his site I learn something amazing that I never knew.