But why?

Avoidance of death or permanent mutilation is one thing, but its hardly what gets you out of bed early on a Sunday morning when there are such good alternatives;

1. A "lie-in". A polite euphemism for a sleepy Sunday morning exchange of bodily fluids followed by an argument about who lies on them and a further argument about who does the tea making

2. A lie-in. As above but without the humping or wet patch.

3. A stroll in the park. (Why?)

4. DIY . This can either be the sort that requires a trip to Wickes and hours of tedium whilst your partner stands over you telling you what's next on the list or the sort that Kev's into, but he can do that at any-time...

5. Playing NATO peacekeeper to the warring factions that are your children and all your neighbours children.

As most of us are either married or in long-term relationships, the chance of any kind of "lie-in" is slim given

a. Apathy,

b. Tiredness, and

c. The demands of the aforementioned warring factions.

In fact, given all of the above, realistically you'll get more peace, less nagging and more chance of a rest if you get up early and go biking for two-thirds of the day. And there's the added benefit of some banter with your mates, the chance that someone might fall off and injure themselves in a particularly gory or unusual way (that'll be me then) and the unique mountain biking combination of an adrenalin rush and great scenery.

Walking's all well and good, but it takes far too long for the view to change and somehow, even though you get longer to look at it on foot, it doesn't have the same visual impact it does at speed when it's rammed into your retina and every stolen glance could win a trip to A and E.

For me, there is only one other thing that could compete with the combination of adrenalin, speed, the scenery and having a good laugh, but neither Fiona nor Nell McAndrew are ever likely to agree to it, so for the forseeable future I'll be mountain biking.