Scottish Cycling – our time is now

This week Digby Brown and Scottish Cycling proudly renewed our partnership - a pairing that helps boost the sport while giving cyclists across the country access to the best possible support.

Diane Cooper, Partner and specialist cycling lawyer here at Digby Brown, met with some of Scottish Cycling's star athletes at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow as they geared up for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, as well as their Chief Executive Nick Rennie.

At Digby Brown teaming up with Scottish Cycling mattered to us because every day we help injured cyclists – not just with compensation but by aiding their physical recovery, replacing damaged bikes and kit, safeguarding futures and even rebuilding confidence so people can get back on the saddle.

To understand why the right support – and why being a Scottish Cycling member – matters, we are pleased to welcome Scottish Cycling CEO Nick Rennie to share some unique insights.

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Cycling – our time is now

As we all know it’s been a difficult two years as we have all had to navigate the pandemic in different ways, from both a personal and professional point of view.

But at long last we are starting to emerge out the other side and learn to live with the implications of the virus.

For us in the cycling world however, COVID has led to an increase in recreational cycling, with people having more free time and valuing looking after their physical and mental wellbeing more and more, and there is no doubting cycling does a brilliant job of both of these things.

World's biggest cycling event coming to Glasgow

We have also had a shift in landscape in Scotland, with the world’s biggest ever cycling event, the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, coming to Glasgow in just over 12 months’ time. 

This will see pretty much every cycling world championship, across the disciplines, taking place in Glasgow and across Scotland over a two week period – there really is something for everyone depending on your particular interests.

For me personally, I can’t wait to watch the mountain bike events, and am intrigued to see what cycle-ball is like – that’s one for YouTube if you’re unsure what it is!

These World Championships provide us with a fantastic platform to continue to grow the number of people cycling in Scotland, but for us, more specifically in cycle sport.

We are already delivering a number of initiatives from the Cycling Facilities Fund, which is seeing £8 million invested into places to ride, through to our free bikes for kid project, Rock Up & Ride, which gives those young people in Scotland, who wouldn’t ordinarily have the opportunity, access to a bike of their own. So the future is very bright for us.

We do want to continue to grow our membership however, get more people involved in our amazing clubs that span the length and breadth of the country, put on bigger and better events and celebrate some of the inspirational role models, such as Katie Archibald, who come through our system.

The beauty of our sport is that there is something for everyone, so whether you’re an aspiring world champion or you simply want to get involved in our women’s only Breeze rides, our sport can connect you with like-minded people, which is a powerful thing.
We are always trying to grow our community and our reach, and striving to be as diverse as possible – we want everyone to have an opportunity to ride.

Why join Scottish Cycling?

When I’m out in the community I sometimes get asked: ‘but why would I want to join Scottish Cycling’.

It’s a valid question, but my response is always pretty simply. 

• We can connect you, through groups and clubs, to fantastic people and places to ride. 
• There are also a whole host of other benefits, such as discounts on mainstream brands, but more importantly our membership offers unrivalled insurance should something go wrong when you’re out riding your bike. 
• Digby Brown support our members with 5* legal cover, and their specialist cycling team mean you really can feel safe in their hands if the unlikely and unfortunate does happen. Hopefully you’ll never have to use it, but that peace of mind knowing it’s there if you do, is just fantastic.

I’ll finish by saying if you’re already  part of our community then thank you – I hope you’re enjoying it as much as I am - if not, there’s no time like the present! 

You can find out more about Scottish Cycling membership on their website.

See you out on the road/trail!

Nick Rennie
Chief Executive, Scottish Cycling
MTB and Road cyclist

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Digby Brown acts for all cyclists across Scotland who seek our help. But a Scottish Cycling membership gives peace of mind as it removes the need to seek help in the first place.

We spoke with Diane Cooper, Nick Rennie, and members of Team Scotland about why this partnership matters to them.

If you’ve been injured while cycling we know you don’t want to have to worry about researching legal firms, find out who’s who or make umpteen calls and emails only to still be left wondering if you chose the right firm because you didn’t have anyone reputable to verify your choice.

As Nick Rennie said above, Scottish Cycling knows who the legal experts are which is why their members can focus on their physical recovery knowing their legal support is already taken care of.

Digby Brown has continually proved to be the leader in personal injury law with top legal rankings in Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500. This is bolstered further with confirmed public backing as our five-star rating on Trustpilot shows following independent feedback from over 2,000 clients.

To understand more about how our expert and specialist cycling law team can help you, see our dedicated cycling advice page and visit Scottish Cycling to learn more about what they do and their membership.