Ride London 100

Oliver, is that a valid use of "i.e."? It feels wrong.

'I.e.' means 'that is' (id est), but to clarify meaning. While not particularly elegant, you can certainly use it in the way you did. I wouldn't use it to indicate that something included something else. Better to say something like: '70,000 was the number taking part in all events this weekend, and it included those doing the Freecycle.'

'E.g.' means 'for example' (exempli gratia, literally 'for the sake of (an) example').

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_phrases_%28I%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_phrases_%28E%29

I'm afraid bothwell's explanation below is completely wrong. She left out a couple of full stops to boot, and I don't understand the logic of her last sentence, either. :)

use i.e. when there's only one option, and e.g. when there could be more than one

"I saw Boris doing a Savile on the ride, i.e. cheating like fuck"

"I saw Boris doing what Boris does best on the ride, e.g. looking like a belmer"

Yes, I am being Oliver today, as maybe he will be less hungover and tired.