Once the Tour de France is over we’ll be sitting in a darkened room thanking the cycling fairy that we don’t have to fill in any more spreadsheets of rider scores for the Fantasy Tour de France. But that’s just us, you might be on a bit of a downer when there’s no more live racing on ITV4. What better way to cheer yourself up than cycling from one end of our sceptered isle to the other on a bicycle made for, erm, seven?

That’s right, seven. A Conference Bike (CoBi) to be precise, where you all sit in a big circle and pedal away while the only person who’s actually sitting directly forwards steers the thing. Sound ridiculous? Well, it kind of is really, but there’s nothing like a challenge, now is there?

As seems to be the new tradition the ride will be departing in reverse formation from John O’Groats on 1 August, taking in some of title sponsor Cancer Research UK’s key initatives along the way before rolling into Land’s End some 28 days and 1,136 miles later. We’re guessing the lack of tailwind isn’t such a big concern here. The ride will raise money for Cancer Research UK, of course, but the participants will also have the dubious honour of helping to complete a World Record distance travelled by CoBi. Not, we’re guessing, a category that hotly contested.

So how can you help? Well you can offer to ride the thing, or donate money to the ride, and the organisers also need somewhere to park the contraption and house the riders at the end of every stage. If you think you’d like to be a part of the expedition, why not head over to www.cobiuk.com for a gander, or follow the team on twitter at www.twitter.com/conferencebike