Don’t you just love the pointlessness of mountain biking? You start in one place, and usually finish in exactly the same place. Usually more tired, muddier and with less material on your brake pads ...

Cicero was the greatest orator in Roman history, born into the upper echelons of Roman society at a time when the Senate (the ‘S' in ‘SPQR') was still the final word in how that great civilisation ...