What shop are you buying from?
A salesperson who is telling you not to buy the dual sided pedals because of weight, raises my concern. That's something a racer would be concerned about. He or she might also tell you not to use spd/mountain style pedals on your road bike. You are obviously experienced in many facets of cycling and that will help you. I agree to starting in stages and I also did something similar to Karen when I got my first clip less pedals. First in my neighborhood, then around the area, where the streets were flat, and finally I rode for about 3 weeks with only one foot clipped in and the other resting on top of the cleat. Finally, I felt that was dumb and I was naturally starting to clip in. However, using clip less on hills makes climbing easier; you start out on small hills and build up.
The one thing I will caution you about with the dual sided "campus" pedals, is because they have the cleat only on one side, that side is heavier and it makes the pedal flip over when you are starting off. Not all of the time, but sometimes you have to kick it to flip it to whatever side you want, be it flat or cleated.
I will talk to you at the workshop, but I am interested where you bought your bike...