The Rules always me laugh when I return to read them again. Never thought to share them here before: http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/ Two of my favourites are: Rule #37 The arms of the eyewear shall always be placed over the helmet straps. No exceptions. This is for various reasons that may or may not matter; its just the way it is. Rule #42 A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run. The whole website is a great combination of interesting stuff and taking the mick out of a sport the contributors love.

I've come off a bike at 20mph or more, landed on my head splitting the helmet in four places. Yet I still know people who argue against helmet use.

Sorry to read this John. Hope you're recovering well. Have you reported the pothole to the local authority? As a club we do quite often and a surprising number get filled. On a lighter note. Anyone want to guess who turned up to ride one of the local 10 mile Time Trials last night? None other than Sir Bradley Wiggins!!!!! Clocked 18.59 on the Rainford bypass alongside a bunch of ordinary everyday club cyclists. What a man!

Saw Springsteen at the Etihad last night. Awesome as ever. I think it's pretty clear this is the last tour so if you can find a ticket don't miss it.

I'll be helping marshal this event along with 14/15 other volunteers from Chorley Cycling Club.

Anyone needing to eat out in Bristol head for The Lido. Yes it is a swimming pool...............with a very fine restaurant!! Excellent, interesting food, great service and a good wine list. Reckon on three courses at £40 a head including drinks, £25-30 without. http://www.lidobristol.com/

Nonsense.

I didn't think I was bitching about Star Wars just commenting the script was identical to the original. I discussed this with someone else who pointed out the different trilogies are intended to be about how three different generations tackled the same problem. I don't know if that's true or not. As for the film itself, and this is my opinion not a bitch, I felt it was an average movie with a very obvious plot and the overall outcome of each of the individual scenes was predictable. OK it's not made for my demographic but it should still be possible to recognise a good film. In the way for example Toy Story was primarily a children's film but appealed to a much wider audience. We went because my son would enjoy it not because we are big Star Wars fans. If The Force Awakens is typical then hats off to George Lucas for keeping the franchise going for nigh on 40 years. It is an average shoot 'em up.

First film my now wife and I saw together was Star Wars. Went tonight, I thought the script might have changed in 38 years. My lad loved it so mission accomplished. We'll be back at the Reebok tomorrow when I hope the force will be with us.

The O&O has been terrible the last twice we've been. When one of those times is the good lady's birthday, 3 sons and girlfriends one gets pretty annoyed when the food and service is bad.

Well it's certainly working. Last time we went I received an email asking me to evaluate my experience. I tried to give an honest response without going over board. The result was a £50 voucher for another visit which we used last night. So good was our evening I found the manager and explained how disappointed we had been on the previous visit and congratulated him on the quality of food and the service we received. After last night I would have no hesitation in returning and recommending the C&B which is quite a turn around. I suggested to my wife we might try the Oyster & Otter again after a terrible meal there. Her response was it will be a long time before she goes back!!!!

Went to the Clog & Billycock tonight and very impressed in stark contrast to the previous visit. Really good food, sensible (that is smaller) portions coupled with swift, previously unheard of, and friendly service. Couldn't fault it.

I'm not surprised by this and have much the same experience. HGV drivers are professionals trained to control a huge vehicle. I watch the guys who turn up at to make collections and deliveries and their driving skills are tremendous. Car drivers are trained once and then left to behave exactly as they wish. Crazy.

It's official cyclists who also belong to a cycling club are a better car insurance risk than the average driver and are therefore by definition better drivers. "We have been able to demonstrate to motor underwriters that cyclists, who are part of a club, are better car insurance risks than the average driver due to their enhanced spatial awareness, road alertness and healthy lifestyle" http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/cyclists-to-get-cheaper-car-insurance/018747 Says it all.

Sorry if I didn't make myself clear. I got a quote to cover my bikes only, 3, from a specialist insurer which was over £800 - I can't remember exactly. My household insurance, buildings and contents, which includes my bikes is £388 pa or just over £30/month. I had similar difficulties. The driver refused to respond to me or the solicitor so we couldn't get insurance details. Eventually my solicitor was able to track down the insurers who paid up after a reasonable period of investigation which included them going to the driver for confirmation - that must have been interesting. The whole process took more than 12 months. I presumed from your original post this was a more recent event. I expect your solicitor has advised this but you need to claim for the whiplash and potential future medical issues resulting from the accident. Good luck with it.

Sorry to read this SAS, hope you're OK? From your remark above I guess the bike has suffered damage? If so you have a valid claim against the driver for both the bike and any injury you may have suffered. In a similar situation I received £3000 from a driver who hit me, breaking my hand and snapping the tendon which holds the thumb in place. There are several ways to approach this. If the damage is severe I'd want new for old with a new bike such as yours. 1. Are you by chance a member of British Cycling and/or the Cycle Touring Club (CTC)? If so both will take up your case free of cost to you. Many cyclists belong to one or both organisations as the insurance benefits included in the membership fee are unbeatable 2. If you are not a CTC member I have read on many occasions if you join they will still take up the case. I'm not 100% on how this works but it would be worth contacting them. http://www.ctc.org.uk 3. Go to a solicitor who specialises in accident work - not an ambulance chaser, no win/no fee - as you should get costs awarded. I followed this route and it worked well but with hindsight I think going through CTC or BC would have been better. At the least ask BC or CTC for a recommendation. 4. Do you have household insurance? If so your bike may be covered against accidental damage, obviously that depends on the individual policy You asked about cycle insurance, this is what I have: Household contents covers all my bikes but I have to declare the value and those three years old require a valuation certificate from a reputable cycle shop. Most good insurers will include cycles and compared with cycle specific insurance even if you have to pay a higher premium it represents good value. I got a quote for cycle specific insurance which was over £800, my house contents is less then £400 including cycles anywhere in the world. My cycle club membership covers me for third party issues, effectively public liability, if I'm out with the club My British Cycling membership covers accidents, legal assistance and third party up to a level in the millions I also have cycle recovery insurance, £15 pa, from Lex Insurance which is basically the AA for cyclists. Any breakdown which the rider could not be expected to fix at the roadside, effectively only punctures, and Lex will organise for you to be rescued and taken to either home, railway station, cycle repair shop or bed and breakfast as appropriate. One can make three claims a year. I have friends who have used it and everything promised happens. Usually a taxi turns out to collect you. So much for cyclists not being insured!

I logged in using two laptops and a tablet. Went on gigsandtours and Ticketmaster but gigsandtours seemed to crash within minutes. I tried for Friday seated on two machines and Saturday on one. I was in three queues each said 25-30 minutes wait. The two Friday queues said sold out after around 20 minutes but I got through on the Saturday queue. Could have bought 4 but only took 2 as that's all I needed. £62 each. Gigsandtours seemed to be overwhelmed and I must say that didn't surprise me. Ticketmaster are set up to handle this and they did. Sure they will screw your for every penny but it's well organised. Never failed yet to get tickets I wanted. It's four tickets per person which seems fair. It's possible to buy more but only by firing up multiple devices. The oeople to blame are the ones who buy tickets with no intention of going to the gig and every intention of making a profit. No one else to blame. £55 tickets for Wednesday are available now

Went to The Clog and Billycock last night. The friend I was with had the pig's head croquette and pan fried hake which he enjoyed - of at least said he did. The hake looked moist and well cooked and a croquette is hard to judge visually. I had smoked mackerel with Potato Pancake, Pickled Cucumber Tartare, Mixed Leaves. The problem being the mackerel looked like it was straight out of a pre pack - I know that's almost inevitable - and the sauce tartare turned out to be Helman's mayonnaise with a couple of pickled onions in it!!! Main course was chicken and ham pie which I expected to be nice chunky pieces of chicken and ham with a rich sauce encased in pastry. What I got was a pie dish rammed with meat which has to be torn apart rather than cut, over cooked with very little sauce and a slither of pastry topping. Service was excellent but the food overwhelmingly average. Not bad just very, very average. Haven't been for 2-3 years and won't go back.

Nope never understood it. For example today we are heading over Waddy Fell. How can you head off there on appropriate gear? Relatively flat out to Waddy, big hill and then flying on the way home.

TJ is right Katherine Ryan is very funny live but I can see does always work in MOTW. Milton Jones live had us in tears all night, quite brilliant but it's all about taste.

I couldn't go because of work commitments. About 20 friends from my club, Chorley Cycling Club, cycled over and saw the race from many locations. Everyone said it was an excellent day. Some of the guys were on Sky - lime green (similar to Cannondale) and black shirts. Good to see Ian Bibby (Preston) doing well.

Two very good new comedies started on BBC2 last Thursday; from Cradle to Grave with Peter Kay and Boy Meets Girl.

If he's lucky he won't see all of us in there at the same time!!! The beer is very good. I don't drink beer often but always do at the Royal Oak. Locally, within 2 miles, we have The Fat Bull, The Dressers, Golden Lion, Hoghton Arms, The Boatyard, Alghero's and The Royal Oak. For me the Oak stands head and shoulders above the rest. As MM says it's all about opinions. I enjoyed my food at the Dressers but found the place dingy.

Here's one for GAV - The Freewheelin' Mitch Benn http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b066w57q

Didn't know it's a listed building. By the whole experience I mean everything connected to the evening. Everything which contributes to the overall ambience. Poor service can detract from great food, poor toilets might make on question general hygiene etc. In the case of The Dressers, for me, the internal decor could be significantly better and while it's a question of personal taste I'd suggest the rebuild could have resulted in much nicer surroundings. I don't know if listed status means a building can't be altered internally, The Dressers has been altered significantly over the years. My house is subject to an Article 4 Direction which means external features cannot be altered. Does the same apply to a listed building? Is it still a pub? Approximately 80% of downstairs seems to be given over to dining and the upstairs is a Chinese restaurant.