SIX months ago I was happily riding my bike along Hove seafront when a dog collided with me.

It was a large, solid dog and although it had a lead, there was no one holding it at the other end.

The dog became entangled with my bike just outside the King Alfred leisure centre and I came crashing to the ground.

I felt a searing pain and it soon transpired that I had broken my right hip – less than four months after smashing the left hip in another accident.

There were a lot of people about and some of them tried to help me. I was moved from the cycle lane over to a point near the seafront railings.

Among them was the dog’s owner who lingered for a while before disappearing. I knew that I should ask for his name and phone number but lying in pain on the prom I was not able to do this.

Both hips are now on the mend although they will never be quite the same again.

But far worse than that is the fact that I have not been on a bike for six months.

I love cycling. It is a way of life for me and my main means of transport.

I have been riding one since I was four years old.

I have ridden the equivalent of several times round the world on a bike. I have owned 20 cycles.

I have written a book about cycling in Sussex.

But after that collision with a dog I do not think that I can risk riding a bike any more.

I’d taken every possible precautions that day. I had ridden solely on the bike lane.

I had used my wife’s bike as it does not have a crossbar and is easier to get on and off.

I was going at a steady speed.

The likelihood is that I could ride a bike without incident for a few more years until infirmity forces a halt.

It was a freak accident but something like it could just possibly happen again.

After the accident my wife, who was extremely angry, informed both the police and the city council about what had happened.

They did what they could but they never found the dog’s owner.

If that man has a conscience, he should come forward even now and admit responsibility for the crash.

I don’t want to see him face a large fine but I do want to see him prosecuted.

On that day I had noticed new signs painted on the prom warning dog owners that their pets must be on a lead. It would have been hard to miss them.

People complain that there are too many bikes being ridden on the prom.

But the number of dog owners letting their pets run free is far greater.

My collision was by no means the first involving a rider being knocked off a bike and I have seen dogs frighten young children. There are so many dogs on the prom when the weather is fine such as last Sunday that accidents are bound to happen.

I hope the owner in my case will at last come forward. Failing that, a few well-publicised prosecutions might make people take notice.

On Friday I went to the ATP tennis finals at the O2 stadium in London.

There is a rule that no one can take in food or drink.

There was only half an hour between matches so there were big queues at the nearest outlets and no time to visit restaurants.

I bought a glass of wine, a bottle of water and a bag of crisps for £11.50.

The water alone cost £3 for a small bottle.

This is an outrageous rip off and I shall not be returning for a while.

The O2 could not do much about the tennis which was brief and lacklustre but it should not subject customers to daylight robbery.

The best thing about the visit was the fast tube train back to central London.

The new Thameslink trains from Brighton to Bedford through London have 12 carriages and can carry far more people than the old ones which were rather like sardine cans.

They give passengers helpful information such as which parts of the train are most crowded and where the lavatories are.

But travellers have noticed one irritating omission and that is the pull down table on the back of each seat.

These are ideal for reading books or for resting drinks.

They cannot be all that expensive to provide.

Removing them is just another indication that the operators will put the convenience of passengers as a low priority, well below making a profit.

It’s a mean little economy and it should be reversed.