Pedal power keeps wheels of law turning

IN OUR MONTHLY SERIES, MARK SMULIAN REPORTS ON THE AIMS OF THE SOLICITORS CYCLING CLUB

The vision of a pack of Lycra-clad, sweaty solicitors peddling around a velodrome pursued by a pack of barristers might sound like the stuff of a surreal dream.

But it might happen following the creation of the Solicitors Cycling Club earlier this year.

It was formed by Michael Gray, a partner at Wilmots, based in Fairford, Gloucestershire, at the instigation of Kris Gledhill, of London-based Camberwell Chambers, who runs the Bar Cycling Club and thought the sport should be promoted across both professions.

The solicitors' club at present has rather more modest goals than out-peddling barristers, though Mr Gray speculates that 'we might one day stage a grudge match'.

Its main business is encouraging solicitors to cycle and to support charity events, providing a forum where people who have both common leisure and professional interests can meet.

So far the club has attracted around 40 members and is 'so new we haven't even opened a bank account', he says.

It has no qualified trainer among its members yet, and so cannot offer any formal training in technique, though it gives general advice to potential cyclists.

Its debut event will be a charity ride on 6 July in which cyclists will converge on Oxford from both London and Birmingham.

The two legs will raise funds for the Sargent Cancer Care for Children Fund and the British Heart Foundation respectively.

The club plans its first competitive event in the summer, using a specially designed circuit in Hillingdon, west London.

To give potential cyclists an idea of what might be in store, this is a 1,495 metres-long track, described by one local cycling organisation as 'in good condition, asphalt with fine aggregate with interesting gradients but not steep'.

How 'interesting' a gradient might no doubt depend on how regularly one cycles.

So does Mr Gray cycle to work daily? Actually no, he admits, and for a reason that will strike a chord with aspirant legal cyclists.

'I don't cycle to work as I'd get sweaty and there is no shower here,' he says.

Clients might of course find the prospect of talking to a sweat-drenched solicitor distasteful, and the idea of dealing with one wearing skin-tight shorts positively alarming.

Pressure for workplace showers and changing rooms has been a key component of lobbying by general cycling organisations, which have argued that this would encourage people to cycle to work who would otherwise find this impractical.

However, installing showers could be a hefty expense for a smaller firm, and might not be possible depending on the configuration of buildings.

Mr Gray says the club has decided it will not become 'political', even to the extent of campaigning for showers, and will leave lobbying for cycle lane provision and the treatment of cyclists on the road to the established Cyclists Touring Club, though it might later reconsider this stance.

At present, the emphasis is on cycling for fun.

'Most members at meetings are ordinary leisure cyclists who do it because it is an enjoyable activity,' says Mr Gray.

'I do club time trials and road racing, though I would not hold myself up as being particularly good at it.

I raced last night - it was flat out for an hour and I was tired out afterwards.' This exertion must help to keep members of a largely sedentary profession fit; indeed Mr Gray says one new member told him he joined because 'cycling stopped him feeling old'.

One member with an all-consuming interest in cycling is Sue Bence, a partner at Leigh Day & Co in London.

Cycling is both her work and hobby as she is the solicitor to British Cycling, the sport's governing body, as well as a keen leisure cyclist.

Indeed, she does not stop at cycling, being an active triathlon competitor, an event which also involves swimming and running.

She says the club had not thought of making a pitch to the profession based on cycling being an enjoyable way of increasing fitness, but concedes this 'might be a good idea'.

Ms Bence says: 'I want cycling to be for everyone.

It is not confined to people in Lycra peddling furiously at trials.

People of all shapes and sizes can take part, and most members are just ordinary solicitors who cycle to work or in their spare time.'

Other leading lights include Charles Jennings of City firm Tarlo Lyons and Toby Tyler of global giant Clifford Chance.

'We hope to build up membership among the many people who cycle to work in and around London but who don't belong to cycling organisations,' she says.

Ms Bence says her entire practice is concerned with cycling and other sports cases, mainly for serious amateur cyclists although she also acts for the Great Britain team.

'Although we are not going to be a campaigning body I would like to spread more understanding among solicitors of the difficulties cyclists face on the roads,' she says.

'There is very little understanding among non-cyclists of the day-to-day problems in traffic.'

If and when multi-disciplinary partnerships become a reality, the combination of a cycling organisation and a personal injury law firm could, sadly, be a perfect match.

- For further information, e-mail: michael.gray@wilmots.co.uk.

Mark Smulian is a freelance journalist