The Guardian's Kate McCann is among the lucky 20,000 to have secured a place in August's London-Surrey 100 event. In the coming months she'll be writing a series of updates about preparing for her first long-distance ride – and asking for tips.

Watching seasoned athletes tackle the Olympic road race last year, my first thought certainly wasn't, "I could do this". Instead, I watched in awe as the male riders scaled Box Hill once, then came round again another eight times, completing the course in under six hours. The women, who rode two laps of the hill instead of eight, managed the course in an amazing three and a half hours.

So when the email came to say my application to do the same course – minus the extra loops – had been accepted, panic set in. Over a route that spans 104 miles, starting from the Olympic park and ending at Buckingham palace via miles of Surrey countryside, 20,000 of us will test our legs, lungs and probably our tear ducts as we battle to finish the London-Surrey 100 in under nine hours.

Having never cycled further than 20 miles in one sitting – and even that was on an old railway line – I did a quick count and decided I have enough time to prepare. To motivate me to get out and train, over the next couple of months I'll be writing about the challenge, getting tips from the professionals, looking at kit for me and my bike and what I'll be eating to keep me going. With four months until the big day on 4 August, the constant nagging guilt has begun to get louder.

With that in mind, last weekend marked the arrival of my new bike. The 2012 Cinelli Experience is about ten tonnes lighter than my current entry-level road bike, affectionately known as Python. With a glossy white aluminum frame, carbon forks and internal cable routing, it turns heads. Unable to resist the pull of a first spin around the block, I braved the snow to take it out for the first time.

The difference a lighter frame and decent components make became immediately obvious. Instead of clunking through gears the shifts were barely noticeable and the design meant I was no longer pulling my shoulders to climb hills.

The only downside, and you could hardly call it that, is that it's a much harder ride. I didn't really understand what that meant until I took it out and realised I could feel every bump in the road, but the extra power you get as a result is worth it. Changing the seat (rock solid and made for men) and testing out my cleats will be the next steps.

After the excitement wore off slightly, the realisation hit that during poor weather and without a training partner, riding long-ish distances gets boring very quickly. As a result I've decided to seek out a friendly training group who won't mind a newbie in their ranks – more on that in weeks to come.

But while I'm still getting to grips with the fitness and stamina I need to make long rides fun rather than painful. So, what are the best ways to keep myself occupied without a group of fellow bike enthusiasts beside me?