I think it's normal to look around a little bit....but once the class gets started most people fall into their groove and, like Summer mentioned, it's just you, the bike and the instructor.
I myself make it a point NOT to look around. Last week there was some blonde-haired guy who I've only seen working-out on the gym floor. He has long hair put in a pony-tail and for reasons I can't quite explain, it would seem he's probably in the porn industry (I'm in L.A.). He was in great shape and wore a shirt about 2 sizes too small for him. During the class, he maintained a perfect swollen-chest form and he made sure to routinely check himself out in the mirror as well as keep tabs on what was going on around him. In short, he put-on a show and was almost playing the room like a social gathering. Oddly enough, the regular gals didn't buy it....he was so transparent with his perfect 'look at me' body and all the ego to go with it. Not my routine!!!
I sit where I can't see myself in the mirror and I just do my workout. Women may like confidence but they can smell ego a mile away and only the terribly shallow and insecure women are attracted to an egotistical guy (cause his ego validates them as worthy).
I'll sometimes look at other people just to see how fast they're turning or how hard they're working...but the thing about spin is that each person can decide how hard they want to work. About a month ago I was joking with a gal next to me (that I'm friendly with)...and at one point I went to put some load on her bike...when I turned the knob, she had NOTHING on the flywheel...she was totally free-wheeling and basically bluffing!
The other thing I'll say about spin is that most people will turn too fast an rpm. I'm a certified spin instructor and they really drilled it into us that if you can turn more then 110rpm, then you need to increase the load. In the saddle 60-110 and out of the saddle about 60-80rpm...and 110rpm comes-up faster then you realize. Faster is not better, it just looks cool. You're just stressing the joints and not getting the workout in.
Like a car engine, your legs have to come up and go down with each stroke..there's a certain amount of inherent inefficiency involved in changing direction. I personally can't turn very fast and that has a lot to do with the size of my legs. Corvette's have big engines and they make their torque down lower in the rpm range and they don't rev very high before hitting the red-line. The Ferrari has an engine relatively half the size of a big V8 and they rev much higher and generat their torque at higher rpm's. Just cause some little spin-bunny can churn-up 150rpm doesn't mean anything!!! (aside from watching butt bounce in the seat...as sure sign of over-revving).
I also ride a real bike and I have a cadence indicator on my Garmin 705 Edge...I've taken it up to 110rpm and feel okay, but once I click-in another gear higher, I can feel the bike pull and maintaining the same heart-rate, I'm moving a bit faster....for me, 75-90rpm is ideal for maximum performance.
And for the record, I've taken a few people from spin class on a real ride....where you have to work to get up that big hill and you can't just fake-spin the little knob. Despite what appears to be my lower performance in class (low rpms), I've easily pulled well away from these spin bunnies. So I have a saying...."spin bunnies rule the room, but fail the trail"....which is often followed with "Oh really, would you care to go riding"...and then "Oh, I see...you're getting your massage & pedicure that day" LOL
Back on subject, I'm mostly used to spinning with women because I escape to the gym in the morning hours when most guys are working. It doesn't really matter what the make-up is of class, I just like solid energy and good music.
