320km: this is how I roll

Me and that Trevor Allen, he of road.cc and Ergon 24 MTB fame, are off on an attempt to cycle back to Colchester from Bath this week – Friday 1st of July to be precise. It's 320km and should be a lorra lorra fun. Either that or a horrific, scarring experience.

Either way, it's the furthest I've ever ridden by a clear 100km. So it's a bit of a trip into the unknown. Here's what I'm riding, and why. Any comments for improving the setup are very welcome...

Bike: Genesis Equilibrium. It's such a comfy bike that there really wasn't any thought of riding anything else. Plus, it's pretty quick. Mine's got a Kinesis 12k fork on which is pretty forgiving.

Groupset: SRAM Apex. More 'cause it's on the bike than anything else, but it's the best lower budget groupset I've tried so far.

Wheels: Shimano RS80-C50. Fair to say we haven't picked the hilliest route so I'm hoping for some extra zip along the many flat bits to compensate for the extra weight over the standard RS80s I normally run. Plus, they need testing. Plus, they look the nuts.

Tyres: Vittoria Open Corsa Evo CX. Superfly Vittorias with 320TPI cotton casing should be quick and comfy. They need testing, too.

Bars: Easton EA70 with Oval extensions. I reckon I need a tuck position and the Ovals are handy because they fit to a special stem cap, meaning it's easy to fit and remove them. The pads I've just velcroed to the top of the bars rather than using the holders which made the extensions a bit short, the position seems just about right.

Saddle: Charge Spoon Ti. Best saddle ever.

Navigation: Garmin Edge 800 + backup battery + Google Maps on the phone as a backup.

Anyone that wants to join us for a bit on the way is more than welcome. This is the plan... 24kph riding average (dropping to 22 later on), three stops.

Bath              05:00
Malmesbury        06:30
Fairford          08:00
Burford a         09:00 30m break
Burford d         09:30
Bicester          11:00
Buckingham        12:00
Ampthill a        13:30 1h break
Ampthill d        14:30
Baldock           15:30
Steeple Bumpstead 18:00
Sudbury a         19:00 30m break
Sudbury d         19:30
East Bergholt     21:00 

Wish us luck!