I'm with you, Monk. I've found a group of friends who prove that high-performance riding and comfortable, long distance riding need not be mutually exclusive.

These guys do the RAGBRAI every year--across Iowa in one week--riding the same bikes and wearing the same gear that they use for races.

Beach cruisers are cool. Superlight, ultrastiff carbon fiber bikes are neat. Beautiful vintage steel bikes are awesome. Even silly aero TT bikes have their place. My favorite? Lately, versatile single speed and fixed gear bikes set up for city/commuting/fitness riding. But any bike is better than no bike, and it's too bad some folks can't stop dumping on each others' preferred styles.