Subham arrived at my house, where I performed the sort of generous act that should probably earn civic recognition I lent him a bike and a helmet. Thus equipped, we set off on a scenic journey through the golf course and along the brook towards Cricklewood, looking less like elite athletes and more like two men heading out to negotiate with shrubbery.

Our destination was Mrs C, who had found herself on the wrong side of an increasingly assertive hedge. It had grown so large and unruly that it was pushing out towards the road, narrowing the pavement and causing understandable concern among neighbours, passers-by and, it seemed, possibly the authorities too. This was no modest garden trim. This Hedge was a small green mountain!

When we arrived, it stood there looming over us at well over ten feet tall, as if daring us to have a go. Armed with loppers and a certain amount of misplaced confidence, we got stuck in. After an hour of chopping, dragging and general horticultural combat, the beast had been subdued. The pavement was wider, the road clearer, and order had been restored to this small corner of Barnet.

The nicest part was the reaction. A couple of local people stopped to thank us, including a neighbour, and one woman said, “God bless you for doing this,” which is not something you hear every day while standing ankle-deep in hedge clippings.

Mrs C was delighted and visibly relieved. It was one of those GoodGym tasks that reminds you that a fairly ordinary hour of effort can make life noticeably better for several people at once.

After that, Subham and I got back on the bikes and headed home. Or rather, I got back on the bike. Impressively, Subham had actually run to my house before the mission and ran home afterwards as well, which meant he had somehow turned a hedge-cutting errand into a highly respectable endurance event. It’s a new event run Bike hedge! Could it catch on? You heard it here first!

A fine afternoon’s work: one giant hedge defeated, one pavement rescued, and one GoodGym runner quietly showing the rest of us up.