Actually, I always feel like I'm treated better when I arrive by bike than when traveling in a car.
I've never heard any of these comments; just the opposite, with folks being kind, curious and helpful. We've been invited to stay at peoples' homes, and dragged home by cyclists for lunch or dinner. We had a motel owner offer to do our laundry and apologizing for not having it folded when we came to pick it up. A group of people leaving church one Sunday morning as we were riding through a small Nebraska town stopped to talk to us, and wondered if it was OK with us if they said a prayer for our safety............................
We tend to stay off the popular bike routes, such as the ACA routes, so a loaded bike tourer is still a novelty in many of the places we ride through. The bike is a great ice breaker, and we meet some great people. On a recent tour my wife was talking to a father and son who stopped to visit as I fixed a flat tire. The father did not speak English so the son was acting as an interpreter. When the father asked why we choose to travel by bike my wife said," to meet people like you". When his son told him what she said, his eyes lit up complemented with a wonderful smile. That is what bike touring is all about.
We've had so many people help us that we made this card to give as a "thank you".
A young English speaking woman at a museum in The Netherlands made a comment as I walked by in my bike shorts; "you have very nice legs". She got a little embarrassed when I replied "thank you" in English. Made my day
My wife was laughing so hard I thought she was going to cry.
There are people who totally get why you tour on a bike and understand; then there are people who really don't have a clue, and wonder why you'd rather ride a bike than go on a cruise. You can tell after about 30 seconds what type you are talking to. I think the folks making the type of remarks the OP is referring to are the clueless type, and does it really matter.
PS. We are also not likely to be mistaken for a homeless people because we wear helmets.