.have you had a fall on your bike that wasn't your fault...?

As a cyclist in the city you really have to face up to some unpleasant truths sometimes. Quite high amongst these truths is the possiblity of injury, whether by accident or design, through the fault of others. In a motor vehicle an accident may at times be a minor affair, with insurance wrangling to come later making a particular nightmare afterwards. On a bike that minor accident may have more serious ramifications, and in many cases the cyclist won't have the benefit of that insurance company to fight the corner.

The CTC can, rightly, be held up as an effective defender in such cases, with the cyclists defence fund proving itself in a number of notable instances to have the stomach for the fight. But not all cyclists are members of the CTC, and whatever the reasoning may be, it means that these cyclists fall outwith the ambit.

But there is another way. And a way which needn't cost you a penny. And it all started eighteen years ago...

Simon Holt hit on the idea one day of combining his profession as an experienced personal injuries solicitor, with his favoured pastime of cycling. Quite simply, noticing a gap in the market where, unlike motorists and motorcyclists with their own compulsory insurance regimes, Simon wanted to set up a free legal advice service for cyclists.

Eighteen years is a long time to develop what has become a specialist knowledge, and is also a ong time to build up a willing network of doctors and barristers who operate over the whole of the UK, making home visits within the service a practical (and sometimes necessary) bonus.