Having created a resounding buzz for this year’s Ilkley Carnival, team Approach took part in Ilkley’s biggest annual community event.

In keeping with the carnival theme, ‘The Yorkshire Tour’ we felt it would be the perfect opportunity to show our support for the Tour de France heading through our beloved county.

Starting on 5 July 2014, The Grand Départ will be travelling from Leeds to Harrogate covering 118 miles. We attempted to collectively cycle the same distance throughout the carnival from our very own stall.

Armed with wheels, bike trainers and distance monitors we set off from our metaphorical start line mid-morning with two of us on bikes and two manning the stall.

As part of our engagement with the carnival-goers we created a map of the route and encouraged people to guess how far they thought we could travel over the course of the day. We also created our own carnival game, inviting contestants to throw ping-pong balls through our board in return for a sweet treat.

We kept each other motivated through various forms including food from stalls which were temptingly surrounding us. As the day went on it became apparent that we were not going to manage the full 118 mile distance, but several encouraging guesses from the public kept us pedalling.

After calling it a day at 4:10pm we totted up our distance at 59 miles, exactly halfway through the first stage. Despite the sore bottoms and general disregard for any future cycling activities it was yet another thoroughly enjoyable Ilkley Carnival for all involved.

Is it too early to say bring on next year?