303 km Fixed Ride (188 miles) in a Day

Just finished a milestone I had for years but never got to trying. I aimed to do the ride in under 18 hours but it was surprisingly easy (see point 3 in the learnings) and I finished in 15:20 hours with 12:20 hours on the saddle.

My learnings (super basic, but can't be said often enough):
1. ride a bike you like on bike paths / roads you like

1. Fueling is everything, never stop eating carbs.
   (I used oat bars, katjes and powerade, around 3000 kcal in total during the ride)

2. Of almost equal importance is pacing.
   I bought a Heart Rate Monitor just before the ride and it was worth triple it's weight in gold!
   Being able to control your effort throughout the ride just by looking at a number on the bike computer makes pacing absolutely foolproof. I rode up hills extremely slow but that gave me the energy to do a strong finish.

3. Check your bike fit before.
   Fit was ok, though the aero bars where too low since I fixed the stock, not adjustable elbow pad tilt, so I didn't really use them.

For the next step (500 km (310 miles) in 24 hours) I'll go to the Netherlands, one of the few country that's not complicit with killing it's cyclists, because of the necessary night ride. Also it's flat and has lots of near perfect, uninterrupted bike paths.

Bike:
– Gearing: 47 x 16 // Gebhardt x Dura Ace
(maybe could have gone for a lower ratio for this ride since it didn't have strong descents. But if I would be into using the perfect gear all the time I'd ride a roadbike ⁾

• Frame: Dolan Pre Cursa Size S
  (perfect frame)

• Fork: Felt Airfoil 3.2
  (had to change from stock Alpina to accommodate 1 inch clamp diameter of the Cinelli Angel)

• Handlebars: Cinelli Angel with integrated Aero Bars
  (absolutely legendary look imo but a nightmare for bikefitters)

• Wheelset: Mavic Cxp Elite, Novatec Hubs
  (not fast but durable)

• Tires: GP 5000 Front and Gatorskin Back with Butyl Tubes

• Crankset: Miche Primato Advanced

• Saddle: cheap 3d printed

• Pedals: Platform/SPD Pedals by Shimano

• Front Brake: Dura Ace Br 9000

• Brake levers: Campagnolo TT Levers

• Seatpost: Lightskin