"Absolutely right! If the bike isn't a little beat up, it hasn't been ridden enough. I've always been amused by people who treat their bike as if it were some sacred object. Hogwash! A bike is a tool. It's meant to get beaten up. Every dent tells a story."
To each his own. A mountian bike gets dirty & dinged just using it as intended. If you want a pretty mountian bike, hang it on your wall & don't ride it. However, there is really no reason that a road bike needs to look beat up. Our tandem has over 8,000 miles on it along with 3 airline trips and it still looks pretty good. I have a car that is 18 years old with 200,000+ miles on it & it still looks pretty good. Yes, tools are meant to be used but not necessarily abused. Use your tools your way & I'll use mine my way.