This was the sixth time I've seen Dylan. Tonight was without doubt the best. Fantastic night, great band and Bob in fine form. Don't be late, he started early this evening which caught quite a few people out.

Yep as Ozz says good pub food at the Oak. It is a tad expensive and I'd guess the management know the area will an extra couple of quid on the price. I've always felt we've had good value for money. I've noticed the clientele are somewhat ageing - speaking as a very young 59! - and it tends to be busy early evening but quieter from 8.00pm onwards. I'm not sure at what age I'll move to that category - home for cocoa and bed!!

Wow Tom that is expensive. Have to admit afternoon tea has been a great favourite of ours for years - my cycling takes me to many excellent cafés. £25 per head though? Sunday afternoon we had tea, sandwiches, cakes all beautifully presented for three people £18.50 total. It was sufficient we didn't bother with an evening meal. This was in a wonderful hotel which charged an eye-watering £234 per room - we won't be staying!!

Had afternoon tea at Grays Court, York on Sunday. It's just down from the Minster by the Treasurer's House. Fabulous. Mrs P and I decided we should have a weekend there sometime. Checked the website, £234 per room B&B!!!!! Good tea though. Highly recommended.

I always forget The Royal. Very good shout.

If I was chosing between the two I'd go for the O&O. There's also The Royal Oak at Riley Green.

Went to the Three Fishes today. Probably good if one has never eaten at an RVI place before. Nice atmosphere and a big improvement on the Clog but: 1. Expected far more fish to be available 2. Change the menu, it needs a big re-think 3. It's dangerous to live on past reputation 4. Learn to cook lamb and roasties Quite disappointed and I'm sure there are plenty of more interesting places to go

We watched Atlantis last night. I'm usually a big supporter of BBC programming but Jason (mythical), Hercules (mythical) and Pythagaros (I'm sure he proved something) in the same programme set in a mythical land? Hercules was the greatest of Greek heroes - this guy needs a serious transformation. Now I am assuming "Jason" is he of Jason and the Argonauts. Do the beeb not know their basic Greek mythology? Theseus slew the Minotaur. This nonsense is aimed at a family audience which will leave a whole bunch of kids with a totally inaccurate view of Greek mythology. Even more worrying my wife is capable of watching Strictly, Atlantis and Casualty. I may take up knitting.

Turn! Turn! Turn! - The Byrds

I've had good seafood in Livebait Manchester but no idea if they do lobster or if it's any good. You could try asking the Oyster and Otter if one could be cooked especially for you.

True but you can find a million YouTube clips of drivers hitting cyclists or generally behaving like idiots, and presumably millions of examples of people behaving badly in other walks of life - there are idiots who behave badly in every section of society not just on bicycles.

Ewood Bikes are in the Cycle to Work scheme.

Anyone know either of these places: The Marsh Cat, Parkgate, Wirral http://www.marshcat.com/index.html or Woodcote House, Hooton, Wirral http://www.woodcotehouse.co.uk/

Sparky, I hadn't thought of this from O2G's view. Very good advice in my opinion and I've read good reviews and remarks about Decathlon on message boards / forums. Decathlon are 10% cheaper online This link could help and I feel it's accurate; http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-2177769/Ride-like-Wiggins-The-best-road-bikes-500.html SAS - most new bike ranges have been launched during August 2014. It usually takes a few weeks to filter through. I notice Evans have a 10-30% sale now, mostly around the 10/12% range. Myself I'm going to give it a couple of weeks and then start looking around. I'll be buying at Ewood bikes regardless, they support me throughout the year and so when it comes to a new bike they always get the business. As Ewood Bikes are mainly Canondale stockists this is probably what I'll get, Ian will check what is available to him and then we talk accordingly about specs etc. This of course is a different approach to the one you may want to take as I'm very committed to supporting my local LBS. I had forgotten the n+1 and s-1 rules!!! I find major dates in life are useful arguments as well, 40, 50, 55 (just an excuse really) and 60. I'm 60 next summer and this autumn purchase is based on an early birthday treat as I can get a better deal and an extra year's use out of the bike!! i find the "at home" negotiation is best started about 3-4 months ahead of purchase!!!! One should never forget the "but it'll last me 10 years so that's really only £xxxx pa, great value"

Winter isn't a problem in my experience. I always try to avoid pot holes and grids, especially grids which are slippy and greasy when wet. Snow is obviously a nightmare. After long spells of dry weather I drop my tyre pressures when it's wet and generally ride lower pressures in winter for a bit of extra grip. Worse thing about winter is keeping the chain and cassette clean.

Can't comment for SAS as I know nothing about Tri bikes. For Sparky it depends on your budget. If you look at £500+ there are a lot of good choices. I agree with O2G re Halfords but Boardman does offer good bikes at reasonable prices but be prepared for dodgy service - you'll end up looking for a good bike shop eventually! I think I read Boardman now sell direct as well but not sure. Dolan are good but start around £650 and quickly go to £1200+ If both of you can wait 6 weeks or so there will be good discounts on 2013 bikes as the 2014 ranges will come out then. 25-30% discount is often available. My main advice would be find a good bike shop, explain what you want to achieve and take the advice. If possible always ride before you buy. If you stick with the same bike shop for everything you should get great service. Personally I always go to Ewood Bikes but there are plenty others worth trying. If you want a chain of stored try Evans. Often good deals to be had. I've never been but I understand Merlin in Chorley, on Buckshaw Village, are very good. Second hand is not easy as most cyclists keep their bikes for different purposes. I'll probably buy new this autumn but will keep the current one for winter / bad weather use and the new one for summer. My third I keep for touring and shopping!!

No problem. Didn't really think about Mansfield!!!

I don't know Boardman bikes but have read many positive reviews. Looking at the Halfords website it seems you have a SRAM double, that is you have two chain rings on the chain set (the front), and depending on which bike you have it could be a compact double. I ride a compact double and think I understand what you mean - this also applies to a straightforward double. The SRAM gearing has a double click and push through movement to change gears. To change from the smaller chainring to larger you should push through (in towards the wheel) as far as needed to shift the chain up. You should hear two clicks though I don't always on mine. To go down from larger to small it's a double click; push once till you hear the click, release and you may then need a second slight push . This drops you to the small ring. Is this what you mean by three positions? The second push shouldn't be necessary but I find under some conditions it helps to slightly adjust the mech and reduce any noise. Check this link. http://www.bicyclewarehouse.com/articles/how-to-shift-sram-doubletap-levers-pg463.htm I guess the rubbing is the chain running through the front mech? It's not uncommon and I think results from the difference in set up in a workshop and the pressure the bike is under when ridden Is the rubbing only in certain positions, perhaps large front to large rear and small front to small rear? If so it's just fine tuning. If its happening on the mid range of gears I think the front mech (the bit that actually shifts the chain) needs full adjustment. I suppose it's possible Halfords have put the wrong equipment on but the mechanic would have to be a complete bumpy. You could try asking Ewood Bikes. Halfords should do both.

I don't think we will agree on the tax thing Stuart but I'll just make one last point - tongue in cheek. Lets assume VED is a tax to use the road, the DVLA data shows there were 34.5m licensed vehicles in the UK at end of 2012 and the UK population is 63.7m. This means at least 29.2m people have not paid VED. Does this mean they can't use the roads? I would completely agree with a tax on bikes to go towards safe cycling. Sadly I don't feel this will happen for two reasons; our road system has evolved over decades and we don't have the same cycling culture as Denmark or Holland. Consequently adapting our roads for safer cycling would be hugely expensive. VED raises about £6bn a year and I guess a cycle tax would only raise a tiny fraction of that. On the insurance thing I have two policies. One is a simple extension of my household contents which covers my bikes for theft and accidental damage - a friend came off his bike at 40mph two weeks ago and he says the insurance will pay for the wreck! Secondly I have third party cover up to £10m plus legal cover. So if I ever run you down you can be sure I can pay out after a good legal fight!! To be serious I want to be covered as I am in my car. Anything which happens to me or i cause while I'm cycling is covered, I feel it is the responsible thing to do. Most of my cycling friends have the same or similar. I would support compulsory insurance and a cycle tax but doubt it will happen as it could never be policed.

I'm not sure anyone is pretending, according to Wikipedia since 1937 VED has been regarded as part of general taxation. This is how the government and HMRC view it - I doubt they are wrong. These days it is a tax on pollution and different vehicles pay according to their level of CO2 emissions - if it were a tax to use the road then I imagine every vehicle should pay the same. You have to pay SORN because VED allows a vehicle to driven or stored on the public highway. Abbey's argument is irrelevant, as is the whole argument that cyclists don't pay VED and so should not be on the road. I pay my taxes, I pay VED, I'm insured for cars and cycles and I'm entitled to use the public highway in any manner I chose provided it's legal. If the government want to tax my bike it's OK with me.

Ewood Bikes. Very reliable and not too expensive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtCpJTWpBh8 Love it

Ah well cn174 got there first. Drivers pay a tax on their vehicle, it is not a tax on road use. Anyway I pay my Vehicle Excise Duty along with millions of others plus while I'm riding a bike I'm not having an impact on the road surface which is what car drivers believe VED is paying for - misguided but it's what they think!. I pay approximately £50pa for third party liabilty and legal cover specifically designed for cyclists. The maximum amount of third party cover is £10,000,000 - what does your car insurance offer? If there was a test I'd take it.

Can't agree with you there Stuart, cyclists have an equal right to be on the road and have an equal share of the road. I would mention the vehicles which worry me least are HGVs as these are handled by well trained drivers who are fully aware of the problem they cause cyclists - though I have to admit to a nasty moment with one on my way to Whitchurch a few weeks back! The two big problems for cyclists are White Van Man and impatient car drivers, often driving large, expensive cars, who try to overtake when there isn't the space and usually approaching a bend they can't see round. I agree many people don't know how to behave on a bike and are real danger to themselves and other road users. What many motorists don't understand is cyclists actually have to use the road in much the same way as you drive a car. The main rule for a cyclist is to know when to adopt the "primary" position and when to adopt "secondary" position. The primary position is the safest for a cyclist and is the centre of the left hand lane, the secondary position is one metre from the left hand kerb which allows moving traffic to pass safely while giving the rider an escape route if needed. Primary position is very important on narrow roads, junctions, urban areas with lots of parked cars, busy and slow moving traffic and it makes the cyclist highly visible and offers plenty of protection to the rider. For example passing parked cars one should ride a doors width from the parked vehicles, just as a driver should, ask any cyclist who has been "doored" and he /she will tell you why and this will put the cyclist in the centre of the lane. A following motorist may curse the rider but it is the safe and correct way to ride - it's the lack of knowledge or thought by the driver which is the problem and not the other way round. Cycling responsibly is about asserting one's right to be on the road while riding in a safe position and causing a minimum of delay to other road users.

Yep the Guild Wheel is a superb example which was designed by a local cyclist rather than the local council painting lines on the road.