What is your opinion of this from the OS? -
'The bicycle belonged to Jeremy's mother, but it had been brought to Jeremy’s house for Julie Mugford to use, so that she could cycle from Goldhanger to Toleshunt D'arcy, leaving the bike at the Red Lion Pub. She would then get the Osbourne's bus which runs from Tollesbury to Colchester.'
My opinion of it is:
(i). Jeremy has provided a plausible reason for having the bike.
(ii). The reason for the bike involves Julie. Let us note that Julie makes no mention of the bike in relation to the incident. (I appreciate that Julie wouldn't do so because she said the killer was Malcolm Macdonald, but that being the case, where does that leave us with Julie? Doesn't that suggest she was indeed a constructive accomplice, as I have theorised?).
(iii). (Assuming Jeremy is guilty) obviously neither of us know for sure how he did this, but even if he did use the bike on the night, my point is that I don't find it very likely that he did use it. I find it more likely he went on foot (mixture of walking, jogging, running), so I'm going to say he went on foot. In other words, I'm applying the most simple and reasonable solution against the available evidence, rather than complicating things needlessly by shoehorning in an isolated piece of evidence just for the sake of it.
(iv). Notwithstanding what I have said above, the bike may well have been a factor in some other way. For example, if you take the view that Jeremy planned all this, then Jeremy may have used it to scout routes and he may have deliberately done this some months before. Jeremy may also have wanted the bike available either at Bourtree Cottage or White House Farm as a back-up and last resort, just in case he needed to move with greater haste some of the distance between the two locations.
I do intend to start a thread to look at this further, as I believe the topic ties in with the incident sequencing and phone calls. I think you know this yourself, Adam, and that's why you and lots of other guilters are keen on this bike.
Not all guilters agree with you. I'm a guilter myself and I disagree with you on this.