B-Hen, I did it the other way - started spin classes and wound up on the road. My very excellent spin instructor is a real cyclist (he just won PA State Champ racing in his master class) and spends most of the class off the bike, gives a lot of individual instruction, and does NOT scream. His classes are longer, 1 1/2 hours, and some in March were 2 hours long to get us ready for the road. Chip is serious about warm up, stretching breaks, cool down, and more stretching off the bike. We often worked in the dark to keep the focus on our own workout. This guy's personally responsible for the Latebloomer discovering that she had an inner athlete - at age 45!!!

BUT he leaves the gym for 6 months to train and race. So he left me with these caveats: get to the gym early and be responsible for your own warm up. Skip anything that seems wrong for your body (like "jumps" for me), use a heart rate monitor and don't overdo, no matter what the instructor is whooping about. Some of the other spin instructors at our gym are okay, some seem like they only comprehend being young & indestructable. Drink often, even if they don't cue you.

I know what it's like to fear regaining the weight: I feel like my 50-some pounds are like Captain Hook's ticking crocodile - just a step behind if I lose my focus.

So my suggestion is to try lots of spin instructors, with an eye out for the "grown-ups" - I bet you'll find at least one or two you like to work with. Hope this helps.