As some people know, I am cycling from London to Glastonbury with my son an a friend in aid of WaterAid, starting on this Sunday. If anyone would like to sponsor us please follow this link - thanks. http://www.justgiving.com/PiltonPeloton.

Paul, Thanks - yes I did. We are booked on the Wednesday cycle ride from Bristol to the festival - by which time we will have cycled from London to Bistol over three leisurely days. Am in the Highlands at the moment, writing this courtesy of the wi-fi in the B&B in Ullapool. Had an absolutely fantastic ride yesterday on a hired bike from Shieldaig around the coast to Applecross.

No problem Colin. I appreciate that without having seen the other posts mine looked a bit odd. I absolutely agree about OS maps. I'm off walking the south west coast path later this week and I keep picking up the maps to have another look at where I'm going. The map won't be out of my hand for the whole walk. If I have the appropriate map for a bike ride I'll often stick it in the pannier just so that I can look at the route when I stop for a coffee and cake. The Garmin has all the benefits that I and others have outlined above but I still incur its wrath occasionally by deciding on the spur of the moment to go a different way. After a minute or so beeping to tell me that I'm off course it stops sulking and recalculates the route. On the other hand I don't think I will invest what is a lot of money to buy all the OS maps if I'm doing a long ride in a new area.

Interesting. I don't know the Clitheroe operation. The Brasserie in Preston reopened on Friday after being shut for a few years (the Olive Press downstairs stayed open and is still there) and we went on Saturday. It was excellent. There were 5 of us and we went at 6 and wanted to be out by 7.30 to get to something in Chorley at 8. We managed comfortably to have three courses with wine, pre-dinner drinks and coffee in time. We have eaten there frequently from when it first opened and on Saturday it was as good as it ever was. Classic brasserie fare. We picked from the top end of the menu with wine, cocktails and coffee and the bill came in under £30 a head. Clearly there are plenty of places you can eat cheaper but not many where you can eat at anything like this standard. Northcote and Longridge excepted (and they are both quite a bit more expensive) it was as good as it gets in these parts.

Sounds like a fantastic weekend Paul. I heard Mark Beaumont at the Kendal Mountain Festival a couple of years ago and it was well worth it. Melrose is also a fantastic place for a cycling break. It's a beautiful small town and there will be plenty of choice for fine rides up and down the Tweed valley. My wife's parents are from Galashiels just up the road so I know the area quite well. From Edinburgh I would try and avoid the two main routes to Melrose - the A7 and A68 will both have a lot of fast moving traffic. There are some alternatives if you're happy to lengthen your ride a bit. Coming home the B road from Hawick through Newcastleton is quite quiet and should be a fine ride and alternative to the A7.

Colin, My comment about the Garmin was in response to a request from Paul as to how I had found it on the holiday thread - I made a new one to stop it going off topic and answered Paul's question there. In truth if I had been buying I would not have spent as much as was spent on the Edge, but I would want some form of computer. It just shows how much my loved ones love me! But as Paul says, the real boon of a GPS is that you can record all your rides on sites like Garmin Connect and Runkeeper. This must be invaluable if you are interested in training and improving your performance. I'm not really but it's still nice to see where you've been and have all the data recorded. As Paul also says being out and not knowing where to go can be a real problem. It's not just about getting lost, although that is a problem. It's also when you might know where you are roughly but not know the best way back on a bike. Getting towards the end of a long day you might not know the best way back without leading yourself to a big climb that your body isn't really up for. Also route plotting from a website on to the Garmin allows you to plan really nice rides using recommended cycle routes, actively seeking out climbs or not as the mood takes you. As much as I love a proper map (I won't entertain sat nav in the car), they are not terribly convenient on a bike.

The discussion Paul and I were having on the holiday thread was straying seriously off topic so I thought I would get a new thread going in case anyone else out there was interested in cycling. It seems to be exceedingly trendy at the moment. It's an Edge 800. I had similar problems to you but that's what the boys are for. Son No1 (the new born cyclist) sorted it all for me. It is particularly good when you have plotted a route on one of the many websites (eg bikehike) and downloaded it to the GPS, as it's then pretty tricky to take a wrong turn - the machine beeps at you as soon as you stray more than 50' from the route. Alex also got me an OS map card to try - it was good but my problem is that I need to wear prescription glasses when riding which are no good for watching the small screen so any detail is wasted on me. He got the card as part of a package when he bought his own Edge 800 - it was £30 more in the package when the standalone rrp is £199. As I didn't want it he flogged it on Ebay for £125. Good tip if you want to have another go.

We asked the club at the meeting in December but that was just after the takeover and as you will know things have been a bit hectic within the club since then. We reminded them last night and they promised that they will get to looking at some appropriate memorial. No idea as yet what this would look like.

I'm flattered Paul! I was going to say that you need to book if you're going to the Cornerhouse but I see it's on locally from tomorrow. I would avoid the Cornerhouse for this because it was in the smallest screen (3), which is not much bigger than my front room and it was packed on Tuesday night.

Good though The Kings Speech is (and it is very good), I'm just back from seeing Blue Valentine, which I think surpasses it. Again like Colin's comment above, there are no explosions, car chases, robots shooting each other - just two ordinary people falling into and out of love. Some others who I know have seen it have found some scenes almost too painful to watch. I didn't really feel that but there is real emotion there.

We will be there on the Tuesday rather than Saturday. Saturday is Fulham away which is the perfect excuse for a weekend at the first born's flat in the East End. We will also more likely be in Pizza Express than Cafe Rouge! Agree with you on the Lowry - excellent venue, which I will be frequenting this Friday for the opening night of Richard Thompson's tour.

We had a table for 16 at Thyme booked for last Saturday which we only booked on Wednesday. On Friday tea time we got a call to say that they has ceased trading on that day. Luckily the Pines stepped into the breach with a fine meal in a private room to boot.

I didn't know there was opera on but I know the Cornerhouse in Manchester has a live feed of the musical Fela from the National this Thursday which is a similar idea. You need to get down to see Opera North at the Lowry Paul, if you have not already done. Next visit is in the first week of March and I think we will be seeing Carmen. Saw The King's Speech last night - excellent.

In that case tha needs to get out more lad.

They were indeed Oz, although arriving a bit late I was so far back I could barely see them. Just back after another fabulous weekend (well best part of a week). Makes a change to be shaking dust off everything rather than mud. Some thoughts on my festival, although I suspect most weren't on the telly: - Gorillaz - enjoyed in parts, usually the parts that others there didn't. The Syrian band I thought were terrific and it was worth the time for the brief cameo by Lou Reed, the man with the most lived in face in rock and roll, including Keith Richards. That was the only time I went to the Pyramid stage. Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba. Simply wonderful. I've seen the band 5 or 6 times and they just keep getting better and better. The Guardian this morning said the crowd leaving the West Holts field wore gobsmacked expressions and I can well believe that. I urge anyone interested in guitar bands who hasn't ventured into African music to see them if they can. The Unthanks - a delay of 20 minutes with sound problems put them a bit off their stride but they still gave an excellent set. Nick Lowe - an object lesson for any new wannabees in how to deliver an hour of perfectly crafted pop songs with the minimum of fuss, backed by an extraordinary tight band. To Mezclao - a new Cuban band on in an obscure bar in the early hours of Sunday - a joy. Dr John - only caught the first half an hour as I had to work. Small crowd because he started in competition with the football (that was a mistake that thousands might have regretted), but wonderful to see the legend live again after I think 38 years. Richard Thompson - again another admirable set delivered to a small but passionate crowd. Rodgrigo y Gabriella - I've been wanting to see them for a while now but last night was the first time. They produce an extraordinary live experience for two people and guitars. I have a theory that they are guitar heroes for twentysomethings, who didn't have anyone like Hendrix or Clapton to worship. They have invented a new genre, which Q calls thrash metal flamenco, which is as good a description as I can think of. Gomez - closed the Avalon stage. A while since I've seen them and I managed to catch the last half hour. A nice way to finish last night. My son and his mate are scouring the Sky+ tape looking for themselves in the crowd for Orbital, which included a stage appearance for a Rovers fan - Matt Smith. he's the second that I know of, after me last year Other than that, a bit too much beer and not enough sleep.

Went to see the excellent Rokia Traore last night at the Bridgewater Hall - none other than El Hadj Diouf was there as well.

That list just shows the danger of producing a list on votes on the internet. I can't take seriously any list of the top 250 films that doesn't have any Robert Altman films in it. I don't recall seeing any Wim Wenders films on there either. Yet it's full of pretty ordinary stuff.

Don't like the music but I did once spend a very bizarre but fun night in the bar at the Marriott in Cardiff a few years ago with Lemmy - he'd just got up.

If you mean parched peas, they're still readily available on the Flag Market in Preston most weekends.

I can see both sides, but he felt it inappropriate and as he does all the hard work to make it happen, I would regard it as his call.

I understand from the man that organises it that the big flag will not be making an appearance in the Blackburn End tonight given the circumstances.

It'll be a late night then, as it's only on at Blackburn and the Reebok at about 11.00 pm from Friday. It's on at Wigan, Trafford Centre and the Printworks at more sensible times though.

Saw Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll on Saturday - it was very good indeed. Sorry - couldn't resist that. Paul - it's on at Vue in Blackburn and at the Reebok this week, though not in either cinema in Preston.

I may have missed this as I've been away for the last 2 weeks but there doesn't seem to have been any mention of Don Martin's sad death at the tragically young age of 65. He may not have been at the highest level but he provided plenty of entertainment for me in my formative years as a Rovers fan in the old Third Division team. There was a nice article by Paul Agnew in today's programme.

Duk and Pond are owned by the same management and are about 100 yards apart. I prefer Pond as it's a bit lighter and airier but the food is pretty much the same in both. I know they both have very good reputations but I find them fairly ordinary to be honest.