I don't think going midweek makes a huge difference at this time of year in Mallorca Paul. I'm told there are 30-40,000 cyclists arriving every week about now, so they're coming all through the week. Don't go if you like to ride by yourself!

That may well be true - my experience is only really in Mallorca. I was at Toulouse airport a few years ago the day before the etape du tour. We had flown KLM via Amsterdam and they had left our bags there (I didn't have a bike). Whilst in the office reporting the loss a stream of cyclists came in looking for their bikes including a group from Canada. Their bikes would not be there for 24 hours which rather defeated the object of bringing them for the etape - imagine how they felt.

Certainly there is no advantage at Palma airport in having a bike box, especially at this time of year as there are so many coming in. The last time I was with Alex waiting for his bike we waited for ages at the point where they usually come out, only to find it later by itself by a completely different belt

I always hire. It usually costs £50 to take a bike on the plane plus the cost of whatever you put it in, plus the hassle of taking it apart and putting it back together twice, plus the risk of it missing the plane, plus having to only take hand luggage or pay for another bag as well. Against that i can hire a decent quality road bike for 70-100 euros a week.

Having said that my son usually takes his, although he has a good box to transport it in - Christmas present from his parents!

It's been a gorgeous day for a ride today. Had a little pedal up to Garstang to have a look at how our new boat boat is coming along.

Off to Mallorca a week on Friday for 2 weeks with plenty of cycling included.

Just back from a wonderful week's cycling in Mallorca. 350km and 5,500 metres of climbing, trying to keep up with my son and his mates. Mind you they have trouble keeping up with me on the descents.

They also have the Fenwick Arms at Claughton near Lancaster and now the Farmers Arms in Great Eccleston.

There are a lot of cyclists in London, some of them not very good and some rather aggressive, but the same applies to drivers as the video shows. As for the cameras, yep, got to agree with that I just don't get why they do it - though I do know all the reasons a helmet cammer will put forward

I've ridden quite a few times in London now and the numbers of cyclists just keeps growing and growing at the moment. Like motorists, the vast majority ride perfectly sensibly but there will always be the odd one who does stupid things like habitually jumping lights. They're the cycling equivalent of the Audi/BMW drivers. It's not really every Audi or BMW who does stupid things it just seems like that at times.

I've had double sided pedals ever since I got the Hewitt and had mountain bike shoes on which I can use clipless but I have still not got round to trying them out in three years. I don't think I ride fast enough for the extra benefit to be worth the pain of learning to use them (and for me of putting the necessary on my shoes!).

He's on at the Lowry the night after. I was going to go there but maybe I'll get to Chorley instead.

edit: Just realised I'm in London on 15th as my birthday present was tickets to the reopening event at the Olympic Velodrome on the Friday night.

I thought you had been to somewhere called Anson in Bolton at first!

And in fairness whilst we had good wine we didn't have a lot of it.

It is very good but imo given the competition around this area it's way too dear.

Well I'd be interested in your recommendations for something as good for what we paid - about £40 a head for three courses with good wine and coffee.

Went to the Freemasons Arms at Wiswell last night for my birthday and for the first time. We had a quite outstanding three course meal. Everything was good but the pick was a duck egg custard tart for pudding which reminded me hw good a custard tart can be when done with care. Not cheap (£220 for 6) but worth every penny.

Duk and Pond is just Pond now, on Cross Street.

Heathcotes is the best, but at this time of the year not cheap and not the place for a night out with the lads. The Olive Press downstairs at Heathcotes could be good.

The Continental in Avenham is excellent but for food and beer and also live music if you get the right night, but it;s a bit out of the centre.

For chinese Tang on Fylde Road is the best but again a bit out of town.

If being reduced to tears by a performance is odd then count me as well - I was by Kate Tempest at Glastonbury this year. Or is it OK if you're 60?

We went to Heathcotes last night for the first time in a while. Got home from the game at 6 soaked to the skin and debated what to do about food before the cinema. The wife suggested Heathcotes for the early bird and with a quick change of clothes just made it for the 6.30 cut-off. The food was it's usual reliable quality and with early bird prices was good value too - £15.50 for 3 excellent courses. I can't remember ever having a bad meal there over the years.

As for Indians, we can never get beyond the Sangam in Lostock Hall. Doesn't look like it should be as good as it is, perched above the shops at Tardy Gate but it's never less than excellent. I find the fish deshi to be particularly outstanding.

Sparky -if Decathlon are 10% cheaper online and you're happy with doing whatever assembly will be needed then I'd take your lad down to the shop and have a look at what they've got and then come back and order it online if it's OK.

SAS - any good local bike shop (and it sounds from Paul's experience that Ewood Bikes is) should be able to fit you out for £1,000. They should be fully conversant with the Bike to Work scheme and should talk you through the paperwork you need to do. And bike manufacturers are well aware of the attraction to their customers of the scheme so all produce bikes to fit into the £1,000 maximum. Remember also that you can get accessories and clothing under the scheme as well so can get yourself fully kitted out with a slightly cheaper bike and all the bells and whistles for £1K or blow it all on the bike in the scheme and get anything else you need on top

BTwin is Decathlon's in-house brand. The range as a whole is known for excellence for the price. I would normally suggest that £300 is too little to get a decent bike. With bikes the general rule is that the better the bike the more enjoyable will be the riding and the more likely you are to ride it. A big heavy cheap bike can be hard work to ride and can put you off before you've properly started.

But if you're looking for a bike for a 15 year old, who will no doubt grow out of it in a few years, and more importantly if £300 is what you've got, then the Triban 3 would be an excellent choice. If you google Triban 3 you'll find some reviews including a 4.5 star one from Cycling Weekly from last November.

Velominati Rule No 12 -While the minimum number of bikes one should own is three, the correct number is n+1, where n is the number of bikes currently owned. This equation may also be re-written as s-1, where s is the number of bikes owned that would result in separation from your partner.

Looking into the possibility of getting my 15 year old lad a decent-ish road bike, his first with thin tyres....anyone any tips for cost and what make would be a good start...or any enthusiasts know of any second hand decent bikes for sale.....

For SAS and Marky, I have no specific knowledge of the specific types of bike you're looking for, but a couple of general points. I'd avoid Halfords as, whilst their Boardman range had a good name, they usually have very poor sales and maintenance staff. I'd go for a good local bike shop, who will be able to give you good advice, although they will direct you towards whatever they sell, or try Decathlon. They have very keen prices and well respected own brand bikes. You might have to travel a bit though - north west stores are in Bolton, Warrington and Stockport.

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.

Bogus argument. It's a tax on vehicles, not individuals. The vehicle they travel in/on will be taxed. Except for bicycles...

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.