The ride-in is weird for me too. Part of my problem is that the position is a little scary so I have a hard time committing to it. Now i'm trying it more seriously, like a couple hundred attempts per session, and i'm finally getting comfortable on the ride-in. Most of my friends who ride a bit more ballsy than I do got the time machine a lot faster. If it's a fear thing with you too I would suggest just pushing outside your comfort level a little at a time, but do them when you're well warmed-up, confident in yourself, and determined to take it a little further.
The bike will speed up as you bring it in but you just have to get a feel for staying on top of it. I've been trying them for years with very little progress but since i've started getting serious i'm getting it slowly. It doesn't seem like the kind of trick you can just play with and then one day it will work. You have to be proactive to get results. You just gotta learn to ride that monkey.
Like was said above, lung spins are a good way to get the feel for the ride-in. It's a little more of a normal position than grabbing the peg, but it will still get you comfortable with standing over your bike. A lung spin is like halfway between the feel of peg wheelie and a time machine.