BBC News: Dakar Rally challenge for Scottish lawyer

A Scottish lawyer is quitting his day job for a month to compete in the world's toughest endurance race.
Ten years ago, Paul Carlyle, from South Lanarkshire, could not even ride a motorcycle but he now plans to enter the notorious Dakar Rally in January.

The 38-year-old, who lives in Edinburgh, said taking part in the 5,600 mile marathon was a one-off opportunity of a lifetime.
He has spent five years preparing for the challenge.
Mr Carlye, an intellectual property lawyer and a partner at Shepherd and Wedderburn in the capital, is aiming to follow in the footsteps of Glaswegian Ewan Buchan, who became the first Scot to complete the rally on a motorbike earlier this year.
He will travel the equivalent of the distance between London and Edinburgh, off road, every day for more than a fortnight.
He said: "The Dakar is the toughest motor race in the world.

"It is a test of endurance, speed and navigation as well as luck. Only 40% of the starting riders will finish each year and my target is to be one of them.

"It's a once in a lifetime chance to take part in the top desert race in the world, riding alongside top factory riders."
The rally, which historically ended at Dakar in Senegal, will take place in South America for the second year running in 2010.
Starting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the route will head north over the mountains to the Atacama desert in Chile, before heading south to Santiago and back to Buenos Aires.

Mr Carlyle, who is sponsored by equipment firm Kriega and supported by Desert Rose Racing, said: "It's difficult to know what to expect because the Dakar historically is very much in North Africa and that's where I've done most of my desert racing to date.
"The fact that it's moved to South America makes it a bit harder to assess what it will be like."
The biking enthusiast caught the Dakar bug after getting to know former winner, Frenchman Cyril Despres, at a charity event in the Moroccan desert.
The lawyer has been working hard on his fitness, taking part in triathlons and endurance cycling.