Hammering through 35 miles of Yorkshire sleet and rain to make it to Harrogate by 9 am, the question of what on earth possessed me to attempt a 70 mile, hilly, partly off-road mini-tour on a school night was at the foremost of my mind. It had all seemed like a great idea on paper. How could a fast and light adventure be squeezed in mid-week whilst still fitting in a day’s work either side? How easy would it be to travel fast and light on the new breed of do-it-all bikes? Could you have as much fun on and off road without compromising performance at either end? Finding out seemed like a good idea.