When it was suggested to Napoleon that he should ride a bicycle to the battle of Waterloo, he proudly refused, with disastrous results. He travelled by heavy coach, turning up hot and bothered a crucial few minutes late to be faced with the spectacle of the Duke of Wellington already in position and fighting fit, the Duke having arrived at forty miles an hour on a Raleigh lightweight aluminium racing bicycle with a fully aerodynamic wheel-set and low spoke count.