I think you're wrong about others subsidising my lack of tax. There might be a few at the margins but overall the tax take from VED is dropping significantly, as manufacturers adjust their vehicle engines to reduce the CO2 emissions and therefore the tax. So you're right that my zero rating is likely to change soon. It's most likely that the bands will all lower to take the tax take back to what it was and will mean that those at the top will get more clobbered. And don't worry - i pay plenty of tax in other ways.

Where does that leave me then, with a vehicle that is zero rated for VED? Presumably I'm actually costing the Exchequer money, as there must be an admin cost in issuing me with a tax disc for £0 every year. And I've got a bike.......

Agree with most of that Stuart and riding through red lights should not happen. However, the Highway Code says that cyclists should not travel more than two abreast, unless it's a narrow road.

Where in any of the above posts has anyone suggested that we do what we like or that we ignore the highway code? Clearly, there are a minority of cyclists who do stupid things in the same way as there are a minority of drivers who do. To suggest that the minority of cyclists who don't behave is between 40% and 50% is laughably ridiculous. Most adult cyclists, at least around these parts, are probably also drivers, albeit ones who have some inkling of the speed that cyclists can travel at. I have no knowledge of cycle paths in Blackburn as I don't live there, but I'm guessing they are a mixture of random lines drawn on the carriageway and shared footpaths which stop and start seemingly at random. Cycle paths which make you continually leave and join road carriageways are considerably more dangerous than just riding along the road in the first place, both for cyclists and for drivers. I half suspect that the constant niggling you get from some car drivers is them realising that it's actually just as quick or quicker in urban areas to cycle and a damn sight cheaper as well.

Agreed. Cycle paths can sometimes be useful for less experienced riders and children at busy junctions, but often they make things worse. Paths like large sections of the Guild Wheel around Preston show what can be done though.

Me and the wife too......

A thoroughly enjoyable weekend in London, doing the Freecycle around an 8 mile loop in the centre of town with 50,000 others on Saturday and then watching my eldest son complete the RideLondon100 yesterday in under 6 hours - a good hour faster then he expected. I applied, didn't get in and then wimped out when offered a charity place. I'm definitely applying for next year, when there will be 26,500 places. Applications open next Monday and close if and when they get 80,000.

I'd love to do the Manchester ride but unfortunately it clashes with Glastonbury this year, which I'm already committed to. I was down at the mother-in-law's just south of Bristol this weekend and had a fantastic ride from her house in a loop over the Mendips - 40 miles over the hills and back along the Strawberry line from Cheddar.

I've been plenty of times and have eaten in lots of different restaurants but rather like you and Belgium there's nowhere I would particularly recommend. They were all decent meals but nothing special. But if you do get a chance before or preferably after eating try the Ben Nevis pub at the western end of Argyle Street - excellent beer, a particularly fine selection of malt whiskies and live traditional music three nights a week. Mind you i have eaten very well in Brussels but it was a while ago and I've no idea now where it was........

We stopped off there a few sundays ago for something quick to eat and it was excellent. I assume you know it's vegetarian?

There is an update in today's Evening Post. The inspectors have returned and Bukhara now has 3/5.

No, but if the strong rumours of the Stones headlining at Glastonbury in 2013 are true I'll be seeing them for nowt.

It is indeed a wonderful resource for us over here. I have been right round it three times since it fully opened in the Summer and I also regularly use bits of it. In particualt having a route from Penwortham across to Grimsargh that bypasses the whole of the city centre is wonderful, giving easy access to the whole of the Ribble valley and Bowland. I'm afraid I am daft enough to have ridden down Bolton woods (and up it). I would agree that in certain weather conditions it would be suicidal but having the wodden barriers means whatever you do you can't do it fast anyway. I was reaal;y chuffed with myself when I got up it as I thought a combination of the steepness, the rough surface and the barriers would have made it beyond me. To go off topic a bit I hope you managed to catch some of the Guild when you were out Paul. Some of the stuff over this weekend has been fantastic (at least that I have been able to get near given the huge crowds the good weather brought). The stalls at the food festival in Winckley Square sold out of two days worth of food by mid afternoon on Saturday and after re-stocking overnight, the same again on Sunday. Tonight I went to hear Nick Park talk and then enjoyed hearing the Sing The Docks project again. This coming weekend, which incorporates the closing finale of the NW London 2012 Cultural Olympiad is also not to be missed. The vast majority will be free.

We used the excuse of a fish supper in Bispham to let it get a bit darker.

It was indeed a beautiful evening for it. They said last year there were 15,000 there and there must have been at least as many tonight.

It has been an annual event since 2006. I've never done it but am planning to go tomorrow night. At least it will make me buy the lights I've been planning to get for weeks now.

I can't profess to have enough knowledge of doping to know, but as I understand it there are substances which can be taken and which will be undetectable if you stop taking them in enough time before any potential test i.e. they will help build you up ready for an event or the season as a whole. On his potential guilt, backing out of the case right now might be assumed to be an admission of guilt. No doubt he will spin it as being beneath him as he holds the US agency in contempt but you would have thought that putting at the very best a question mark against his whole racing record would be enough to want him to clear his name if he knows he's innocent. Personally I have very little time for him. He has a reputation as a very single minded, ruthless individual who is happy to upset anyone who has a different view to his own. He has been able to trade on his story as a cancer survivor to provide a lot of goodwill, particularly on people who are not keen followers of cycling. I think he is much less liked amongst the cycling fraternity than the general population. In a nutshell I have grave suspicions.

Essentially the evidence is from former team mates who said that they saw him doping. That's made more complicated because at least two of them have been caught doping themselves previously

Well you can rule out any of the team down to start the Vuelta on Saturday as they overlap. That means Froome, Stannard, Swift, Uran, Porte, Flecha, Henao, Pate, and Zandio won't be there. I would not at all surprised to see both Wiggins and Cavendish in the Tour of Britain. It's a relatively short race in Sky's home market - it would make the race very high profile so would be excellent for Sky for marketing.

Indeed. The Sky Ride in Preston was very enjoyable. I also came across a Sky Ride group of c20 on the Guild Wheel last Saturday.

It's a really nice ride, almost wholly traffic free and the great majority on a decent surface. There are a few short stretches of rougher track but even a serious road bike should be fine. The Wheel has been immensely popular since unofficially opening a few weeks ago. I have been round it three times now and the two times I did it on a weekend I must have seen 100-200 riders on the circuit. Not a place to ride if you want to test yourself as it's quite narrow, often with walkers sharing the space and you will see large groups with small kids. I particularly like the cycle sized cattle grids they have put on the section from Walton-le-Dale to Brockholes. It's not quite finished yet but it's complete enough to get round easily. The official opening will be at 11.30 on Sunday 19th August in Avenham Park

I went for lunch about 10 days ago and thought it was pretty decent. We had the £15pp sharing plate and there was more than enough for me and quality was good. Not outstanding but fair value for money. And the building is spectacular.

Go on I'll bite. There is absolutely nothing wrong with eating welfare friendly veal. Also known as rose veal, it is from young bull calves from dairy herds who otherwise would be killed at birth as they have no commercial value. They are not force fed but fed naturally and killed at about 6-9 months, hence the pink or rose colour. On the fish of course it makes no difference to the haddock how it dies but catching by line is a more sustainable method - only the haddock dies and not all the rest of the fish population caught in an industrial trawler net, including the mature haddock's immature children, which is leasdiung fast to there being no haddock at all on the menu in a few years. So the more line caught fish is consumed the more likely is there will be more to eat in the future. As an aside it is wondrous logic to complain about veal on the menu because you don't approve of the process of production incorrectly in this case) but you don't give a damn about how the fish was caught.

I don't think there is any chance that Froome will try and take away Wiggins' win. From the outset the Sky team have been set up with the sole aim of getting Brad to Paris at least on the podium. Chris Froome is there as Plan B in case Brad didn't make it as happened last year. Cav's role this year as been solely as a domestique (witness the pictures of him loaded up with drinks a few days ago). He was able to get a stage win early on but essentially did that himself with no team help. His focus is completely on the Olympic road race - the Tour has been his preparation. Assuming the leaderboard is still much the same next Sunday I expect Sky to run a race on the Champs D'Elysee to replicate the road race 6 days later, aiming to give Cav the stage win. I think the interesting thing will be what happens next season. Chris now knows he is capable of winning a Grand Tour - will he stay with Sky as number 2 to Brad or be enticed away by another team? That would be tremendous from a fan's perspective, if he moves to a strong team who can support him like Sky have supported Brad. I suspect that Sky might be promising Chris the leader's role at the Vuelta. If Brad wins the Tour I can see him sitting out the Vuelta and maybe riding the Tour of Britain, allowing Chris a free run on the Vuelta.