I feel your pain. I live up the Coast from you and we're getting the wrath of teh pineapple as well. I have a trainer and use it rarely - actually prefer to go to the gym and use the spinning bike.

There are so many costs already associated with the sport that I would go to your gym and hit the spin bike. They can be adjusted so they feel as close to a road/tt bike as possible. Get a HRM and spin. Varying resistance /standing/spinning etc will give you some great mock hills/tt etc.

It can be mentally taxing which in my opinion is the positive of indoor training - I did 4hrs yesterday on the spin bike then a treadmill run for 45mins. No problem adding the balance of time when scenery is there to distract and enhance the ride.

You can always get a trainer later but I bougt one my first year and have used it less than 10 times. Usually I get outside in rain but just not the pineapple express rain.

I second this advice. Both are very useful and have their own benefits. Rollers can be had for $100 and a decent trainer for $200 or less. I've heard good things about the Performance brand trainers and will likely be going for one of those.

Similar setup for me, though I use a Kurt Kinetic fluid versus a CycleOps.

Rollers are surprisingly fun--much less boredom than on the trainer. Even getting a drink from your bottle cage can be an adventure.

If you can get a power option with the Cycleops fluid trainer, you should do it. That is if you want to train at home. The convenience and time savings of riding when you want vs packing up your gear and heading to the gym to do the same thing might be the winning argument for me.

I was in downtown Seattle last November and was amazed at the number of people who bike commute in adverse weather conditions - hard core! So that's always an option ;)

Rollers are a must.
Fluid trainer a must,must.
Recently, I made some upgrades to the bike and decided to get a good fit...Was fit by a Serotta Certified fitter (road bike)
While he was measuring my watts, looking for the position that provided optimal output, he commented on my fluid pedal style...
"Rollers" I said..."Nuff said" he replied.
The more fluid and effecient your pedal stroke...the better your ability to hold a line...the less energy you waste.
You learn that on the rollers.

Rollers can be had for $100 and fold up in half for storage- just a little bigger than a trainer in size.

Riding the white line is ok- but the only way to get even close to the efficiency you obtain with rollers is LOTS of one legged drills and spin ups. Even then, you will learn a lot from 15 minutes on rollers.

Hey, I'd totally love them, but $100 is entry fee for two races, and I can usually only budget for about 4 or 5 races per season (when you count in travel, etc.). Back in the old (DINK) days (read: before we decided to become a one-income family of four) I could have any old tri toy I wanted. Just not so anymore!

I do have a friend with some rollers though and I think I'm going to ask him if he would let me borrow them for awhile (I don't think he's been using them lately). It sounds from what everyone's saying like it would be worth it to get on them, even for just a few times.

The rollers are great for learning to hold your line, balance, and working on keeping the upper body still. Of course, it is hard to do much else, like one leg drills, etc.

I ride three times a week on the rollers during the winter months, once a week, I put the front wheel bridge on the rollers, that holds the front fork in place, and this allows me to really hammer on the rollers for 60-90 minutes without worrying about balancing.

Is a fluid trainer any different than what's included in the Computrainer?