It’s really going to happen this time. Now that RCUK and Bike Magic have been bought by Factory Media, reader requests for a ride organised by and featuring RCUK staff have been noted, ideas have been bandied around, venues mooted and ride lengths debated along with all the other many and varied details to be sorted before such an event actually takes place.

To be honest, we’ve not yet got concrete answers to many of the questions that will inevitably be raised, but those answers we do have are as follows: it will take place on the weekend of 20 – 21 August; to make access as easy as possible for as far-flung and audience as possible it will take place somewhere around the Midlands with Worcestershire a strong contender; it will be a two-day event with a century ride to complete each day; it will be non-competitive, with no transponder timing, although it will have definitive routes to follow in the style of audax rides; and numbers will be limited to 200 entrants.

So, put the date in your diary and keep an eye out for the imminent announcement of full details for the weekend, which will include information on how to enter.