First road bike and first ride advice please!

I reckon mtb is somewhere around 1.5x as hard as road so 100km should be doable. Brakes will be a big difference and comfort too although you have loads more positions available on a road bike to get comfy. Mtb has more extremes of effort ; climbing is harder and requires more thought but as compensation the flats and downhills require less effort. On a road bike you're more likely to pedal harder downhill and on the flat.
You'll soon be looking at lycra - and you don't HAVE to shave!

That's a nice bike for the money. If you're KOMing and doing 60km MTB rides, you'll do 70k on a road bike with no problems. If you're young enough, your back won't even whimper.

Just wing it! You'll have a blast, you're going for a bike ride around some roads you seem to know well, not planning a round the world trip. Take a multi tool, tubes, plenty of fluids, cash and a mobile and you'll be fine.

As for the ride, by far my steepest learning curve was discovering when to brake. The pad against the rim felt awesome, the feedback felt great. What I didn't account for was how little friction there is between the road surface and a skinny tyre. My learning curve involved a quick thinking choice of either hitting an iron gate, a tree, a dry stone wall or my mate who I was following who'd just crashed. Naturally I chose to go over the bars and land on my mate.

Kit: pump, tubes, patches, levers, magic chain links, chain tool, multi tool, tyre boot, cable ties.

Food and drink: water or electrolytes and energy food that you like to eat.

If you feel sore stop and stretch, I agree with the suggestion to climb Holme Moss out of Holmfirth and then descend towards Woodhead. The descent is fantastic and I'm sure that your MTB experience will mean that you won't need to touch the brakes and you'll fly to the bottom.

If you are looking for a cafe stop, I recommend the Old House Tea Rooms on the Woodhead Road on the way back to Glossop from Holme Moss.

Have a great trip!

r.e. adjusting the brakes rotating, yep mine do that. Some higher end bikes use dual pivot points now I think.

I actually find it kind of handy to get everything centered nicely, something you don't really have to worry about with MTB disk brakes!

I don't know about your turbo, but mine says DO NOT APPLY BRAKES! I think it damages the drive system somehow. Besides, stopping a spinning wheel on a resisted drum is easy - stopping 80kg of man and bike on a descent when the weight shifts forward is dramatically different.

Swisstop or Koolstop pads are good on the road, and can make a big difference to stopping power.

I'm just getting back to the bike after an injury (sustained looking after babies would you believe!) and I'm doing core strengthening, stretches (hamstrings, hip flexors, quads, calves) and neck strengthening (look straight up and hold, down and hold etc). A key one is to stand straight, bend at the waist and hold your torso horizontal, stretch your arms out ahead of you (also horizontal) and look up and along your arms. Hold for 30 secs, then bend your knees and elbows to ease yourself out of it.

Have fun!

Congrats on your new bike and your enthusiasm.

In terms of bike knowledge and fitness, you are probably in a better position than 95% of new riders. You have already received some great advice and the only thing I would second is getting the bike fit right.

A position that may feel "natural" to you, as you are an experienced MTB rider, may not be the most optimal. I have also found that a setup that may seem good during 20min on the turbo, may cause pain after 2 hours on the road, so it is worth concentrating on the little things during the first few rides and then think about milles, KOMs etc.

Safe riding and don't forget to have fun.

Brakes will be the main difference if you are comming from a MTB. Just experiment with your braking distance and remind that riding in the drops will give you more leverage in your braking. I haven't use this bike, but generally the factory installed brakes are not that good at this price braket. If you don't feel condifent with your brakes, consider buying new pads (something like http://goo.gl/dnHRXM) or even new brake blocks as a last resource. But just experiment to see what suits you better.

As someone who went through a similar transition from MTB to Road this year, I suspect the biggest issue you'll have is with your back.

The aero position on a road bike is different to a nice upright MTB and takes some getting used too.

I'd ease yourself in semi-gently, and possibly do some core training in the gym if you are keen. It took me a good couple of months before I found riding a road bike comfortable, I certainly didn't go out and do 70 miles on my first ride.

I'd second the comment about brakes, the brakes on my road bike are awful compared to my MTB - doubly so in the wet.

Oh yeah, and road bike brakes don't work very well compared to MTB discs! Brake early.

Holme Moss on the Derbyshire descent is a nice one to do as you don't have to brake much (you can see the road well ahead) although be aware, it is very fast.

'I'm a fairly experienced MTB rider and was sponsored as a youth rider'

You'll probably go like shit off a shovel. It's just riding a bike and it sounds like you are pretty good at it already.

The main thing you will probably notice is the higher gearing on the road bike.

I'd suggest doing a circular route - up Woodhead, left towards Dunford Bridge, around Winscar reservoir edge, Hade Edge, and then out to Holme and over Holme Moss.

It is more interesting to do a loop than a straight out and back, and goes up the best side of Holme Moss.

Enjoy.

get a couple of appropriate "power links" for the chain ... and ...

Double then double double check that you've picked everything up

Last time I went out I completely forgot the multi tool ... Did I feel a prat
or what !!

I don't want to put you off or anything, but that's quite a long ride (probably circa 4 hours) to be in a new riding position, on a different saddle etc. Assuming you've already got the general bike fitness from MTBing, have you considered just taking a couple of weeks to build up? Even one slightly shorter/less hilly ride initially would help.

Obvious things that often need sorting as your distances/climbs increase are:

Fit - poor positioning can easily lead to or exacerbate injuries or aches/pains
Neck strength (since you're essentially looking up for prolonged periods, and neckache is common)
Backache from the stretched position
Sore bum from the change in saddle (and as I'm sure you know, the stock saddle is often unsuitable, so you end up changing it - even your usual saddle may be uncomfortable due to leaning further forward)
Handling - I'd want to be fairly familiar with the bike's handling characteristics before I went bombing down Holme Moss
Any number of little details - do the brakes react how you expect? Is the bar tape comfortable? What's your preferred tyre pressure? How are those tyres in the wet/on steep climbs/cornering/generally?

To put it another way, I was talking to someone about bike insurance, and mentioned that if my bike was nicked, replacing it is only half the inconvenience, the real trick is then setting up the replacement in the same way as my current bike.

Don't forget the tyre levers. For a first long ride, I'd say food is essential too. I find carrying a couple of cereal bars and an energy gel works well for me. I don't always need the latter, but it's useful to have if you start flagging.

You sound pretty organised to be honest!

On a new road bike, you will need to get your fit dialled in. So read up on the basics of fitting and try to get your saddle height, fore/aft, bar height and stem length to a comfortable position before your epic ride. And take a multitool or Allen key for adjustments on the go.