I'll get advice from CAB rather than have to put up with the attitude of some of the stuck up edited on here.

Not interested. You can all go to hell!

You're the one with the chip. I'm not here looking for negativity, just advice, so save your comments I'm going to just ignore you.

And another thing. I spend my whole life trying to catch up on sleep because of the NOISE cars make, yet I don't get any compensation for the damage to my health or the damage to my health from their exhaust fumes! Maybe they should insure themselves to compensate people for that? Look it up, new research is showing the devastating effects noise pollution etc. is having on people's health and mortality rates, noise pollution alone could be responsible for the deaths of millions of people across Europe every year. Oh but the poor car drivers have it so bad, having to drive around and avoid cyclists everywhere they go.

I'm paying nothing and you can keep your comments to yourself! Sick of car drivers all thinking that they own the road. You want to have these luxuries of modern life then YOU INSURE IT!

It's a fallacy that drivers pay for the up keep of roads, in fact everyone pays for it. I'll happily cycle on a dirt track, the tarmac is there for their convenience, yet I still have to pay for it. Because ultimately if you are going to use a vehicle that is so costly to repair then the onus is on your to insure it completely. If there were no cars on the road, only mountain bikes, would there be an argument for me to have insurance then? I have to insure myself because the roads are clogged up with expensive vehicles? I wasn't though, was I? Bottom line is they should have been insured because their loss is more substantial than mine, should my bike get trashed. The more expensive the commodity, the more reason you have to insure it yourself. I am also not at fault, perhaps no-one was at fault here.

What else am I supposed to do, get off my bike and walk that stretch of the road? Might as well just walk the whole distance then seeing as the roads are pretty much a mess everywhere in this city, and certainly you can't move for cars and traffic lights anyway most of the time. Cars own the space in between all the buildings you see, because it was tarmacked over for their convenience. Maybe they can sell the car and buy a cheaper one that does the same job. They are bleating about being hard up but appear to have more than one car and probably a mortgage, which is more than I have and I manage to get by. You don't need a car to bring up children. I, on the other hand, need to feed myself. My story changed yes, but in cases like this the facts don't always come to light straight away. This is not me being dishonest. I'd like to help them but they are threatening me with court action and accusing me of all sorts into the bargain. So they can deal with it themselves. I did the decent thing and stopped to help, they're problem for not being insured. If a branch had fallen off a tree and panned one of their windows in they also wouldn't be insured. It's their fault for not being insured. I ain't stumping up a grand to repair their fancy car for something that ultimately was not my fault!

So all bikes should carry insurance because there are so many cars hogging up the space on the roads all of which cost a fortune to repair? They should have been covered, and you know what if there weren't so many idiot/inconsiderate drivers hogging the pavement on that stretch of road then I would have been taking this route to get round them on my bike in the first place! I went out on my bike again yesterday and had to swerve to avoid two cars coming out of junctions, that's about the average. I was left thousands out of pocket years ago suffered a broken foot after a bus collided with me knocking me off. I've explained what happened, I can't be held liable for a repair that costs a thousand for something that ultimately wasn't my fault. Anyone who thinks I am being dishonest here just keep it to yourself, I'm just looking for advice on how I can deal with this. If they are going to drive around without insurance to cover their car for accidents like this then that's their bad!

And you know what else? I'm not buying this needs a whole new tailgate theory either. Metal can be heated and moulded into all kinds of shapes quite easily.

It was neither of our faults and they are more in a position to bear the cost than I am, a lot more. Why should I stump up for something I'm not to blame for? It all happened so fast and i felt so bad about it but having had time to think about it I think the council are actually liable for this. I have always had concerns about that particular stretch of road and you have to have your wits about you in any vehicle there. The details about when things happen often don't become clear until after, when the initial shock has worn off. I now it all sounds like a story and I came here to see if there was a solution to this current problem and through doing so I have realised that I might not actually be to blame here. In any case, if they do decide to take court action where do I stand? If it's not looking good at that time I can always do as you just said and offer something, but continue with my case with the council. I'm not sure how far that will get me or long it will take, I might be agreeing to pay for the damage for something that isn't my fault and end up seriously out of pocket for no good reason.

Why do you think it's unlikely they will take me to court? They seemed pretty sure about it on the phone today.

Noone can deny that the road on that particular stretch is a mess. I can't say for certain that a rock or this rock caused my wheel to lose grip as I was turning and result in me coming off my bike, but I really think it's plausible. The more I think about it the more it makes sense. Should I raise a complaint on the basis of that? I don't think that's being in any way dishonest or economical with the truth. I can neither prove this any more than anyone can disprove it. I went back today to have a look and sure enough there was a rock about the right size and shape to send the front wheel of a bike sideways if hit at the wrong angle sitting at the side of the road. I am a very careful cyclist and a good judge of speed etc. so for something like this to just happen suddenly is a bit unusual. It might look suspicious that I am going back and finding this rock, but bearing in mind the state of the roads it's not a theory that can be easily discounted IMO

I was injured, not seriously, but I could have been. I went back to the scene today and took pics of the road surface which is in a truly appalling state, and I found a rock by the side of the road near where I came off my bike so I reckon that's what happened. Guy phoned me today and said it's going to cost about a grand, and I told him I wasn't accepting liability. Predictably he was none too happy about this and is threatening to take it to the small claims court. Also was complaining about having to bring up kids, yet I'm sure the car his wife was driving was her/his mothers so this shouldn't affect them. I feel bad for them but it actually wasn't my fault. So how do I go about complaining to the council? Do I need to mention this to the police?

Ok, will I mention this to the guy and in the letter to the council will I ask for compensation? I didn't mention this to the police yesterday, but I was in a bit of a state and confused, and they didn't ask me many questions about it. I don't have the police incident number, should I get that first?

Should I complain to the council about the state of the roads there, and mention this?