GO AND GET DIRTY

IT’S DOUBTFUL I’LL EVER mount a challenge for the Dakar. I’m far too old, and to be perfectly honest, far too scared to fire a giant dirt bike along moonscapes at 180km/h. I am very much in awe of people who do. I look at them like I look at the MotoGP racers – gods to be admired and venerated, and if necessary, sacrificed to.

That said, I have ridden a fair amount of dirt in my time. I did Sydney