Markwebb,
I think that you missed my point.
I ride with my son as much as HE wants. We also ride with his friends and their families. I (personally) am not into all the gear - this is strictly my son’s interest, and as far as I am concerned, if that keeps him interested in the sport, then I am OK with it. I agree that it appears a bit extreme, but this is a kid that doesn’t normally watch TV all year, until July. Then we have to ‘TiVo’ the Tour De France every day, so that he can watch as much as possible. As I said earlier, I do not have all the gear, nor do the families that we ride with. However, he enjoys going to watch local bike races and he is very aware of the gear the racers are using. (I don’t see this that much different than all the kids in the neighborhood that wear NY Yankee outfits).
By the way, I ride a POS MT. bike. I ride in a T-shirt and street shorts and I don’t have ‘all the gear’ myself, but I have been teaching my kid bike safety and how to enjoy the sport.