A small office bet, a big Dartmoor climb.

It started like most office challenges do: a bit of back-and-forth, a bold claim, and someone willing to see it through. Jago reckoned riding a fixed-gear makes you a better cyclist than anyone relying on gears. So we gave him the simplest test we could think of - Bovey Tracey up to the top of Haytor, under 30 minutes, on his custom fixie. Six kilometres of steady climbing that ramps up without warning, the kind that gives you very little for free. Just a cold Dartmoor morning, one gear, and a hill that doesn’t care how confident you sounded at your desk.

On the day, Dartmoor wasn’t doing him any favours. The temperature barely hit five degrees, the road was damp in patches, and every breath lifted into the air like smoke. The climb doesn’t ease you in - 6 km of rising road, broken by sharp kicks that jolt your legs just when you’re settling in. On a fixed-gear, there’s no slipping into an easier rhythm. You push, or you slow. That’s it.

Jago gave it everything, but the clock didn’t blink. He rolled over the top at 33 minutes, completely emptied, legs shaking, breathing hard, the kind of tired that leaves you smiling at the absurdity of it. The hill won the argument, but only just - and the effort said more than the time ever could.