I WENT out on my bike for the first time in years at the weekend, as part of my training for the Rossendale Triathlon.

Nothing too taxing mind – Rawtenstall to Crown Point and back. But how things have changed since the Sixties.

Mrs B insisted I wear a helmet, which I resisted on the grounds of health and safety gone mad.

But, a mile into my trip, boy was I glad to have a new £30 helmet on my bonce!

I was genuinely terrified as cars whizzed by within inches of my thighs.

Motorists pulled out as if I was invisible, and one woman obviously thought I could ride through her open car door.

Apart from being terrified, I was also very mad and began composing this column in my head as I wobbled along.

“Potholes” I ranted repeatedly. And it wasn’t particularly the potholes that got my goat, it was how and where they were created.

We live in tough times and must therefore accept our roads won’t be pristine for a while.

What I can’t accept is that most of the potholes are caused by work carried out by utilities companies.

I’d say 70per cent of potholes emanate from works carried out by utilities companies.

As I’ve mentioned before, these firms are a law unto themselves. County councils have few powers against them.

Now for a ClivesWorld rant: The utilities companies should be liable for any work they carry out for a period of, say, 15 years (in this high-tech world it’s not impossible to create a database).

If any defects occur in that time, the utilities companies would either have to repair them, or the council could charge the blighters for fixing them.