News
Ed Fletcher @ the British Triathlon Disabled Triathlete Development Squad Training Camp 27 April 08
Athletes and Coaches display their talents at the British Triathlon Disabled Triathlete Development Squad Training Camp
British Triathlon’s Disabled Triathlete Development Squad members were put through there paces over the weekend (26th & 27th May), at Loughborough University, by a team of talented and committed BTF coaches from across Britain.
The training camp was specifically delivered for the 10 squad members who have been recognised as having the potential to become British Champion in their respective ‘class’, at the British Disabled Triathlon Championships taking place at Rother Valley Country Park on 1st June.
Coaches worked one to one with athletes, using the excellent facilities at the university. Sessions were delivered in all three disciplines, including an open water training session at Bosworth Water Park. Periodisation and planning sessions were also hosted to ensure athletes will be peaking at the most appropriate time of the season.
Several of the athletes will be representing GB at the European and World Championships later this year, with others competing at some of the high profile events across the country including London and the National Team Relays.
“The training camp has been a tremendous success” said Julian Wills, National Equity Manager. “The athletes have worked extremely hard over the weekend and have had the opportunity to develop their skills through a series of intense coaching sessions, which the coaches delivered magnificently. Both the coaches and athletes have been a credit to the federation.”
Local Paper Support Ben - 29/2/08
Bikelegal Announce New Sponsorship Deal
Read all about in our sponsorship section under Bikelegal or visit http://www.bengautrey.com/.
Auto Scoot Sunday
Auto Scoot SundayThis years increasingly popular annual Auto Scoot Sunday held at Ace Cafe London on Sunday 16th March will direct its focus on road safety. Those attending will be able to sign up for a free one day course with ScooterSafe-London, funded by the London Borough of Brent.
In London, riders of powered two wheelers under 250cc make up nearly half of all casualties. ScooterSafe-London is designed to address this issue by inviting riders and pillion passengers of small capacity motorcycles, scooters and mopeds to attend a Rider Skills Day. These days combine observed rides, led by serving police officers, with interactive presentations and discussions looking at riding in the urban environment.
There are 50 free places up for grabs, and all those who sign up and complete the course, held at the cafe, will be eligible for entry in to a free prize draw for the chance to win a brand new customised Scooter with graphics reflecting the cafe's 70th Anniversary, sponsored and provided by Bikelegal.
Bikelegal from Fletchers Solicitors are the UK's leading motorcycle solicitors. With 20 years experience, they are well placed to represent you after an accident and to follow up and obtain for you, that which you may be due. From cuts and bruises to serious injuries, they are not just lawyers, but people you can count on to help pick up the pieces following an accident.
The winning entry will be drawn on 1st September, with the winner being invited to attend Ace Cafe London on the 15th annual Reunion weekend, Saturday 13th September to be presented with their prize.
http://www.scootersafe-london.co.uk/
Letter of thanks to Rob
Following his heroic trek across europe to raise money for Southport & Ormskirk Hospital's Oncology and Spinal Unit's, Rob was delighted to receive the following letter [1] of thanks from the Oncology Unit.
[1] View Letter
Motorcycle casualties up
Politics & the law
07 February 2008
The number of motorcyclists killed or seriously injured has risen by 4% according to Government figures out today.
Nearly half of car drivers don't see motorcycles
The number of bikers slightly injured fell by 2%, according to the latest quarterly estimates from the Department for Transport. The rate of all casualties for motorcyclists, including mopeds and scooter riders, remained static.
It makes us the only group of road users for whom casualties rose in the 12 months to the end of September 2007.
The number of riders killed or seriously injured (KSI) was 6,670 compared to 6,393 during the previous 12 months.
All casualties were down by 4%, from 262,102 to 252,690.
Car drivers saw the biggest KSI fall, down 42%, while the rate for pedestrians was static.
Article sourced from MCN.com
Motorcycle Licence, Explained
How to get your motorcycle licence
As you may or may not be aware a new style bike test will be starting in October 08.
There are aspects of the new test that are more complicated than the current one and are of questionable value to current riders, such as a brake-and-swerve manoeuvre.
The reason for the new test is down to the EU and includes and emergency brake test from 50 kph (31mph).
Currently you are only required to have a provisional bike licence; newer licences may not have this included and a CBT certificate (£70-£100) to take to the roads on a bike of 125cc or less.
To gain a ‘full’ licence you need to take a theory test and a hazard awareness test, £28.50 (even if you have done one for your car licence).
At this stage you need to find a local training centre. They should all supply you with a bike and appropriate clothing which is always good to absorb those early low-speed spills.
The main choice then is whether or not to go for the Direct Access licence course. This can be done in stages or completed in a week with cost ranging from £500 to £1200 or more for full residential courses, and you use a 46bhp bike. At the end you come away with a full, unrestricted motorcycle licence.
Negotiating the rules and regulations on the way to a full motorcycle licence is complex. Our flow chart below shows the way to achieve it, but we have still simplified the process. 
Fletchers look forward to 2008
As we all role back in from our Christmas break (which seemed shorter than ever) all of us at Fletchers are looking forward to a great 2008.With more events being attended by our Marketing and Business development team than 2007 and great new competitions that will be drawn on the day of the show - we hope to raise even more money for our chosen charity.
As for around the office, with our family law team exiting just before Christmas we have a few people relocating into new offices and await the arrival of more fee earners hopefully. We are also going live with Eclipse a fantastic new computer system that will aid us in settling claims faster during 2008.
So, Happy New Year from all at Fletchers we hope yours is as good as ours is set to be.
Fletchers Staff take CBT
On Saturday 10th November 6 members of the Fletchers team took their Compulsory Bike Test. Fletchers try and run these regularly for new members to the team in an effort to ensure bikers deal with bikers when they come to us.
We pride ourselves on being the UK's Leading Motorcycle Solicitor and try to ensure all our staff have experienced life on two wheels. Well done to the 6 that took part all passing first time. For photos check out our gallery.
Fletchers present R6 Virgin Media Replica bike to Competition Winner
The time has come to present these years winner of the Virgin Media Replica to its new owner courtesy of Fletchers Solicitors the bikers solicitor.
http://www.fletcherssolicitors.co.uk/index.php?pageID=113
Insurance Checking
You may know your vehicle is insured. But do the growing number of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras around the UK's road network? Almost 80,000 drivers had their vehicles seized last year after being spotted by ANPR cameras mounted on police vehicles, at service stations and on motorway gantries. Half of them ended up in a crusher – the vehicles, thankfully, not the drivers! The cameras instantly check your plates against the national Motor Insurance Database (MID) which lists all legally insured motor vehicles in the UK.The database receives a quarter of a million updates every day from motor insurers, who are legally obliged to keep the database fully up to date. All it takes is one mistyped digit and you could find yourself being pulled over by the police - and unless you have the necessary documentation to hand - waving goodbye to your vehicle. The good news is that the Motor Insurers' Bureau which runs the MID has just introduced an online checking facility at http://www.askmid.com/ that enables you to type in the registration number(s) of your vehicle(s) and check at the click of a mouse whether the MIB has you on record. If not, you would be well advised to contact your insurer straightaway to get the problem fixed. Otherwise you could soon be having a rather awkward conversation with some gentlemen in uniform.
Rob Fletcher Completes 735 Mile Charity Cycle to Poland - 19-9-2007
Barely a week after setting off on a unique fundraising adventure, Rob Fletcher senior partner with Southport-based law firm Fletchers Solicitors has arrived in Jelina Gora, Poland having cycled 735 miles across Europe.
Riding 100 miles a day without support and finding accommodation along the way, Rob, 54, has arrived in the Polish town of Jelina Gora to attend the wedding of his nephew Geoff to local girl Asha.
“Geoff’s wedding was the inspiration,” he explains, “but the real purpose is to raise funds for the spinal and oncology units at Southport Hospital. We already raised £1600 from our recent 20th anniversary golf day and I am hoping to get the total up to at least £3000.”
His journey has taken Rob via the Hull to Rotterdam ferry, along the banks of the Rhine towards Arnhem, crossing the German border at Winterswijk and thence via Munster, Detmold, and on through the Hartz mountains, taking a line between Magdeburg and Halle north of Leipzig and Dresden, across the Polish border at Gorlitz, and then on another 50 miles to Jelina Gora.
Please visit our gallery for en-route pictures.
Here is a powerpoint presentation showing Rob's feat in pictures.
The Monkey Monopoly - been and gone
So, that's that for this year. The Monkey Monopoly went very well, we managed to cover over 350 miles and complete the rally in 14 hrs. It did not go without its moments. The Monkey Monopoly claimed two of MCE's bikes, but with Dave doing roadside repairs we ended up getting all the bikes home.
There is already talk of another Monkey Monopoly for 2008. However it has been decided to split it over two days. This will hopefully mean we can stop for longer than 30 seconds at each stop.
Thanks to all who organised, helped and attended the Monkey Monopoly 2007. For picture of the Monkey Monopoly please see our gallery pages.
The Monkey Monopoly Rally
This coming weekend (8 July) Fletchers Solicitors will be participating in the eagerly awaited Monkey Monopoly. Following a modified Yorkshire monopoly board they will attempt to navigate there way around the 350 mile course in one day on a miniature bike. Refer back to these pages to read about how they get on.
Fletchers give huge £19,000 donation to southport spinal injuries unit
Cash raised by specialist bike law firm Fletchers Solicitors (also known as Bike Legal) has enabled Southport & Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust’s Regional Spinal Injuries Centre to help with the rehabilitation of serious spinal injuries.
The donation will aid in the rehabilitation of people, many of them bikers, who suffer serious spinal injuries. Centre director Pradit Sett said: “We are very grateful to Fletchers for this generous donation which has enabled us to buy much needed equipment to help patients with their rehabilitation.” 
The equipment bought includes an Evolv Glider, which allows patients to exercise their legs using upper body strength whilst standing supported in the machine, an Actuator Grandstand, which allows patients to receive therapy in an upright position, four tilting over-bed mirrors for patients who have to lie flat on their back, six Vacuaid suction machines for patients being ventilated, two laptop computers and an Xsensor display unit used to monitor pressure points in real time on patients either in bed or in a wheelchair.
Presenting a cheque for £19,000, Fletchers Solicitors senior partner Rob Fletcher, a keen biker, said: “We are delighted to be able to support the centre in its vital rehabilitation work. The money was raised partly from an auction held at our clients and friends golf day at Hesketh Golf Club where we promised to match the total sum raised.”
Fletchers partner Ed Fletcher, himself a paraplegic wheelchair user following a biking accident, added: “It is great to be able to support people involved in serious injury rehabilitation. My team at Fletchers specialises in spinal cord injury claims and I have seen for myself how important effective rehabilitation is in the cases.
“When I was 17,” he continued, “my best friend Ben broke his neck playing rugby and I saw how much red tape he had to get through to get compensation. Around this time I was thinking about a career and decided to become a solicitor and help people like Ben. Ironically, a few years later I was involved in a freak motorcycle accident which left me paralysed from the waist down.”
