SO autumn is upon us, and as we are treated to the glorious changes in the colour of trees, so we are also reminded of changes to the weather as temperatures start to drop on our journey towards winter.

It’s the weather which is the topic of this article, oft used to support the argument that people living in the UK will never swap the car for a bike, for those short hops around our towns and cities. That and hills.

Those of us regularly using a bike for transport, on the school run, the daily commute or doing the shopping, are certainly aware of the changing seasons, as we dig out the rain jacket and gloves, but is it really that bad? Thinking about my own commute, it doesn’t seem like I get caught in the rain that often. At this time of year I’ve usually got spare clothes at work, and we’ve got the facility to dry a jacket and gloves, but from memory I don’t use it very often.

Memories aren’t much use for this sort of thing though, so about a year ago I started my own detailed scientific research.

I cycle to work most days, from Worcester to Grimley, so, give or take, 10 commutes and about five hours on the bike per week.

Each journey was categorised by my state on arrival, either soaked (where are my spare jeans, using dryer), damp (drizzle, but not getting changed), or dry (dry). I’ll report on the results later.

So this got my mind working. I think it rains quite a lot, but I don’t often seem to get caught in the rain when cycling. Am I lucky? If it’s raining do I wait for it to stop raining before going out?

Worcester News:

Maybe it’s because when we’re sat inside and it’s grey and looks rainy outside, we assume it’s raining, but sometimes it isn’t, or when we’re in a car with the wipers on it’s logged mentally as raining, but if you’re walking or cycling you’d barely notice it.

Certainly the weather in the UK is changeable, so maybe if it rains a bit in the morning we then assume it’s been wet all day. Or are too many of us a slave to the forecasts now available on our mobile devices? What does 100 per cent rain mean anyway?

So the results: of 421 commutes I only got soaked 10 times, or 2.2 per cent. Less than once per month, and a total of 93.3 per cent dry.

I’m happy with those odds, and so I get all the benefits of some gentle exercise every day safe in knowledge I might encounter some precipitation once a fortnight. Certainly not enough of a barrier to stop me cycling. In the scheme of things, it’s only a bit of rain.

The Dutch have a lovely saying when they’re asked if they cycle in inclement weather:wij zijn niet van suiker – we’re not made of sugar.