Just enjoy riding your ebke and don’t pay attention to the naysayers.You purchased it for your benefit of staying fit.
"Cheating who? How much has it cost them? Random people who don't care and random people I dont know of and don't know of me?"
It allows me to exercise and not drive as an individual, not in a competitive group. I ride in a leisure group. They know I'm fat. Im overweight and wish I could ride a standard bike. I can't, uphill. After I bought a Raleigh hybrid, I discovered ebikes. Zounds! I recently rejuvenated the new hybrid sitting rusting and rotting plastic cable covers and changed tires. It is now saleable.