Spin Cycle

You have seen bits of my training on a bike.  For me, the bike is definitely my favorite and with most favorites it tends towards your strongest event.  Fortunately for me, the bike is a major influence on your race.  Being fast on a bike over the distance of an ironman(112 miles) in and around 6 hours which should be your biggest allotment towards the 3 disciplines can pay huge dividends in both a fast time but when doing it correctly can also provide some residual energy to finish well on the marathon.
Currently my training is  two fairly short rides(1.5-2 hours each) in a week.  It is a bit of a function of my location and still some time till the race.  Even though the Midwest winter has been negligible to this point, it still is a challenge to ride in low 40's, windy, intermittent showers, and with only  10 hours of available daylight.  In comparison, summer just has a litany of opportunity for getting a 5-6 hour ride in and still enjoy the day.  Those days are coming I know.  Feel free to come join me on one of those even if on a moped.
To continue to improve my base on the bike I have gone multiple.  I am still getting a ride outside selectively.  I am doing spin classes at the Y.  I am doing a trainer in my garage.  Lastly, I am doing a compu-trainer at a cycle studio. 
I will give you some insight on to each.  Spin classes use a stationary bike in classroom setting with a lead instructor that will walk you through a variety of conditions put to music for about 45 minutes to an hour.  These are high energy and can really give you the beat down if you push yourself.  The challenge can be knowing how hard you are pushing yourself in the class as its mostly perceived exertion.  Its great for the cardio and keeping bicycle muscle memory. 
Riding a trainer involves placing your actual bike on a contraption that allows for you to pedal as you normally do without going anywhere. You adjust resistance on a fly wheel your rear tire runs against. Again, it can give a pretty decent workout, its good to be on the bike you will ride in the race and you can go all night long if you want.  The real challenge is that is sooooo boooooorrrrrriiiiiinnnnngg.  I use mine in front of a TV but still it just is pitifully blah.
The computrainer is a blend of a spin class and riding the trainer.  You use a trainer like you would at home but you are in a class setting.  The real upside is that its a much more realistic feeling ride and it gives great feedback as to how you are performing.  When you are riding your trainer it is hooked up to a computer.  This computer allows you to gain all the metrics of your ride and it actually adjusts your trainers tension so as to feel more like you are on riding an undulating road.  It even has preloaded courses so as to give you the feel of the course through the miles.  Yes, it even has the Louisville Ironman course.  Lastly, your metrics are all on big screen at the front of the room allowing you to be semi competitively against the other riders in the room.  It also allows you to see  your perceived thresholds to the real-time measurements.  There is no hiding or loafing here.  Its been really great to establish my fitness benchmarks or training zones.  Needless to say its a pretty energizing scenario that really seems to payoff in performance. It also spurs that competitive spirit and when your in a room of riders there is no shortage of that.
So I will continue to use these multiple platforms through the coming three months to build my base and with the use of the available technology I will truly be able to see if its happening.