Motorists just do not show cyclists any respect at all

I am lit up like a Christmas tree in the dark, wear a fluorescent jacket and a helmet, I don't cycle on the footpath and I thank motorists who show me consideration on the road.

For my respect of motorists I have been honked at, abused, cut up, knocked off and injured by the minority of motorists who think they own the road, to the detriment of all other road users.

I have been cycling most of my life, done my fair share of racing and touring, now just commuting 70 miles per week to and from work.

I cycle, not for ecology reasons (I do also drive 8,000 to 10,000 miles per year), but because I enjoy it. It is healthier, cheaper and sometimes quicker than a car.

With the greatest of respect to you, Duncan, big man of radio, you ought to try it.

I don't use cycle paths, though. In my view, the majority of cycle paths are dangerous and ill-conceived by council planners who believe that siting 10ft of cycle path in the middle of a footpath meets some sort of government target.

Duncan, the next time you see a cycle path, consider how a cyclist can safely, and legally, enter or exit that path where it starts and ends in the middle of a footpath.

Duncan, and everyone else, when you go to pass a cyclist on the road, please, please, please indicate when you overtake, for safety, courtesy to other road users and as a requirement of the Highway Code.

I do enjoy your column and listening to your show, but it takes a real big man of the radio to debate both sides of an argument '“ so, get on yer bike, Duncan, an' give it a go.

Peter Holleyfield, Mansfield Road, Bognor Regis

NICE TO know Duncan Barkes has noted the increasingly elderly population in not only Chichester but the whole of West Sussex.

So why is it Spirit radio, which covers this area, only plays music it seems for the under 50s and 60s?

I'm sure us '˜oldies' would like to hear now and again Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, etc, plus some of the big bands from the 1940s and 50s.

Spirit has an excellent show called 'Easy Sunday' presented by Neil Bateman, and a few slots in that would be great.

In Tesco, the album at number ten in the charts was Unforgettable Love Songs with some of the above artists.

Spirit, take note of the buying power of us oldies.

RA Waller, Highcroft Crescent, Bognor Regis