[Closed] Commuting - likely to get wet only 7 times in a year...

is that per week for those of us living in wales?

edit: have been known to work on for an hour or so if raintoday maps suggesst a break in rain due.

You've edited to miss out the bit about buying the Aldi specials.

I agree. Here in the east, full on rain is pretty rare. I get wetter from mud then from actual rain.

I presume you mean commuting by car and getting caught in a sudden rain storm between the car park and the office? There is no way on God's green earth that you will only get wet 7 times over the period of a year commuting by bike. I've commuting twice a week since September and I've been drenched more than 7 times. Way more.

I have to say that's complete bollox. I walk one mile to the train station twice a week and have done for the past year.
I've been caught more than 7 times - IE when the forecast was wrong. And it's rained many more times when I've had a brolly.

Fair enough, I wasn't on a bike but it would have been more than 7 soakings

Very much depends where you are. Like I said above, it sounds right for the east, but not elsewhere. And how wet? Soaked or a light shower?

If getting wet bothers you commuting by bike is not for you, however...getting wet doesn't happen that often and the real problem is the psycho f***wits in tin boxes,so if you can deal with that the upside is you become a human rather than zombie diabetes case.

I think I agree. I commute by bike 2x a day 5 days a week 47 weeks a year in the West Midlands and I could probably count on 2 hands how many times I have needed a coat. I spent £150 on a new coat last year and I have used it 3 times and it's hung up at the back of the wardrobe. I have probably jinxed it now and will probably get rain every day next year.
Just don't get me started on headwinds.

According to yr.no, we have 18 wet days per month in winter and 6 in summer in Dunblane.

I always maintain that in the outdoor centre we only lost 2-5 days a year maximum due to extreme weather...

I also have a 'so what' mentality, it's water. I'm not going to drown. I find it a bit sad that people at work seem to be put off so many things 'because it's raining'. If I get to work wet, within 10 minutes I've showered and dried.
(But I fully understand the problem if you can't shower at work.)

I call bullshit ( at least in my experience), I cycle 4 miles to work (and back home) everyday and I got soaked pretty much everyday in December, I say soaked but I was wearing my Berghaus goretex overtrousers and my Rapha rain jacket so at least I was dry underneath. This was in damp n' dreich Galloway so it may differ if you stay in the dry climate of southern England

Pretty close to what I have experienced so far this year doing 4x a week.

Sounds about right, commuted 3x's a week this year, got the waterproof trousers out the backpack no more than three times (Yorkshire).

The original source for that fact is (I believe), Richard Ballantine's Bicycle Book. Im pretty sure it's based on Met Office data or similar. Will see if I can dig out my copy.

A few months ago, as the clocks changed, people on here were moaning about commuting and training in the dark.
So I decided to do a wee survey of how many times I got a soaking on the commute (or night rides).
Now normally the north east of Fife gets a pretty good deal weather wise, and I would have agreed that 7 was close to the maximum days that I would ever expect a proper soaking.
Not this year.
So far it's worked out that 50% of my commute has been raining or wet roads, this is by far the worst I can remember since moving up here. I am blaming El Nino and toughing it out till Spring.

For a proper drenching that "requires" a waterproof it sounds about right living in Dundee. Maybe a bit more but not by much. I seem to get wetter from road spray after overnight rain than rain during a commute. I usually commute (5 days a week, year round) in waterproof shorts and a windproof as a result.

The reason to spend the £, is that you can wear a breathable jacket as your shell all the time. With a cheaper one, on cool days, you end up wearing a windproof and carrying your chunky waterproof. I carry a small, light Altura pocket rocket in a light windproof gilet. Wet 7 times a month on average in the Lakes, and I was part time bike commuter.

I will wave to you on the bridge next time Shackleton 😀

IIRC it's based on a London cyclist with a 30 minute ride at either end of the day 5 days a week.

I seem to remember that stat being about getting wet on bothe the out and return journey.

The original source for that fact is (I believe), Richard Ballantine's Bicycle Book. Im pretty sure it's based on Met Office data or similar. Will see if I can dig out my copy.

That's my recollection too - also my experience in London where he lived.

Generally in my experience -true!

(Commuting to/from local station each day, 5-days a week in West Mids)

That's the figure given by TfL in London to encourage cycle commuters. It's for those traveling at typical peak hours I believe, five days per week

So, found the 'updated' bicycle book, which includes a relevant quote from the original, but not the supporting evidence that I'm sure I remember. Anyway, the quote is as follows:

There is no measurable rainfall twenty days a month. Cycling is out of the question only fifteen days a year. And in the time between 8-9 a.m. and 5-6 p.m. it rains only twelve days per year.

I can believe that. Those suggesting it rains far more, have you got full length mudguards? Since having those I rarely use my waterproofs, because while there is often water on the road, it is fairly rarely actually raining when I am commuting.

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I commuted by bike 10+ miles each way 5 days a week in that London so 2 hrs a day for about 4 years (now just 2+2 miles a day)

Properly rained on maybe once or twice a month, so as my commute was longer than average if say that's about right for what has to be the UK s most cycle mad city with easily the highest number of cyclists

(Get my waterproofs from aldi/ army surplus tho and some sort of mudguards)

I could get rained on 7 times in a month never mind a year. In fact I get rained on at least 7 times a year even though if it's raining in the morning I say "**** it" and take the car.

What is this 'rain' you speak of?

Hmmm. I live in Dundee, which is statistically very dry, and I'm pretty sure I got soaked 4 or 5 times in December alone.

Granted the last couple of months has been uncharacteristically moist, but 7 times a year seems a bit light.

I remember when I was doing Non Motorised Transport Planning at uni, the lecturer gave us a stat that in the UK, for every half hour commute, on average you'd only get rained on 1 in 14 days...basically telling us a bit of rain is no excuse for not riding to work when preaching to the masses!

In a wet summer three years ago I had a 20 minute commute and got wet on just two occasions (this is west Yorkshire) but was lucky on several occasions: I rode in one day completely dry, put the bike in the bike rack and walked inside, by the time I got to my desk the heavens had opened. My current commute is 21Km and I'm more likely to get wet from surface spray than actual rain.

It does seem like it's more likely to be dry during the commuting hours (this month excepted), no idea why, just an observation.

Christ, you lot are terrible at statistics.

Old stuff I read years back said it rained 1 in 3 days - obviously north and west see more, south and east see less. But 1 in 3 days is twice a week for commuters.

It rarely rains all day, usually bands pass through, so maybe half that?

And it rarely rains hard enough for it to really make the ride miserable.

So maybe 7-10 days a year you get properly unpleasantly wet might be true in some parts of the country. And if that is forecast, I drive anyway.

My commute is normally about 20-25 mins, not worth it IMO to be getting changed into cycling gear, I just wear the clothes I would wear to work. In that clothing there are at least 40+ days a year that I decide are not suitable, and probably another 5+ that I get caught out and wet on the way home, although that doesn't bother me so much.

If I was changing into cycling gear I could half that amount to being easily bearable.

Although 7 days is a bit optimistic, Even though I live in the wet west of Scotland, you'd be surprised at how little I actually get a soaking on the commute.

I only have an 8.5 mile commute, and most of the moistness comes from surface water - a full length set of mudguards and neoprene overshoes deal with that pretty effectively. And I don't bother with waterproofs, I prefer a softshell type jacket and full length Lusso tights, as they dry quickly too for the way home if I do indeed get a soaking (and I get too hot in waterproofs!).

Flexitime makes a bit of difference, if you can wait for the shower to end or set off before it reaches you can improve your odds. Especially these days with rain radar maps and apps.

But 7 days a year is still bollocks in the vast majority of the uk.

Agree with the 'it doesn't really rain that much' if you commute on your bike.

However, still worth having a waterproof for when it does IMHO - riding into rain is not pleasant! You don't need £150 though - £50 will get you something good enough. Given my commuting kit tends to end up with a fair bit of grime on it I wouldn't spend a lot on it in any case

This thread is making us Mancunians sad.

Manchester here and I reckon on getting a proper drenching a couple of times a year so I can believe that number. light shower and drizzle dont count as rain....if the gore phantom can deal with it for 30 mins then its not wet.

another way to look at it is how much is a tank of fuel?
cycling is still going to be cheaper than driving.

when i say proper drenching I mean strip of in the cellar before being allowed in the house kinda wet!

I worked this out about 10 years ago for riding on the Mendips, using local weather observations. For night riding twice a week, we were likely to get rained on (note, theres still plenty of water on the ground) only 7-9 times in the whole year, which surprised me.

I've not done it since, but generally weather patterns have got wetter, so I expect it's more that that now.

In south east coast, 4.2 miles/20 min 9-5 commute 5 days a week I doubt it has even been seven times I've been properly soaked. Plenty of times forecast has got me dressed up for it and it let me down in fact, quite aggravating, breathable never is breathable enough when this happens.

In Glasgow it's certainly more than that. It doesn't sound too wide of the mark for London but I would still prefer not to arrive at work drenched 7 times a year- particularly if I still commuted in office clothing.

I've commuted by bike five days a week for almost a decade, about 20 minutes each way. My (Aldi) waterproof trousers live in my bag, but only rarely get taken out and out on. It's only a handful of times that I've got wet enough to change my socks.

I do live in the sub-tropical north east of England though.

Clearly don't live in South Wales. 100mm of rain a month on average. 70 in May to 140 in December.

Out of the last 20 commutes I've been soaked 4 times.

Once I had to call in my LBS to buy a water bottle to put my phone in to stop it from getting ruined.

In Glasgow too.

I've been drenched far more than 7 times this year and that's with me driving when its been really wet.

Think this little factoid is widely optimistic for the western parts of these isles

Not for me either, I started commuting again at the end of November and I reckon I've had more than 7 wet rides since then, let alone the rest of the year.
That said, it's not been wet enough for the £150 waterproof jacket that I don't own though. It's just not been cold enough to justify doing anyting other than getting wet.

The original source for that fact is (I believe), Richard Ballantine's Bicycle Book

I thought the only bit anyone ever remembered about that was killing dogs with sticks, or choking it with your arm?

Having seen all the caveats, what proportion of people cycle commute between 8-9 and 5-6? I work shifts so that's me out anyway, but my early turn starts at 8.00 so I've left the house by 6.30, and there's always cycle commuters out as I get nearer Oxford by 7.00ish.

I commute 5 days a week, and I regularly ride both days at the weekend as well, I get damp regularly, wet occasionally (a couple of times a month maybe?) and totally soaked through about 4-5 times a year, but with hindsight it's mostly the weekend rides, its quite rare for me to get properly rained on on a commute, lots of standing water and drizzle but rare for a proper soaking from above.

South West FWIW.

Having seen all the caveats, what proportion of people cycle commute between 8-9 and 5-6? I work shifts so that's me out anyway, but my early turn starts at 8.00 so I've left the house by 6.30, and there's always cycle commuters out as I get nearer Oxford by 7.00ish.

Unless you have evidence that it's more likely to rain at a certain time of day, then the time you leave is irrelevant. The probability of it raining during the two hour long periods in which you commute is the same as for any other two hour long periods.

I thought the only bit anyone ever remembered about that was killing dogs with sticks, or choking it with your arm?

The bit I remembered was the emergency stop of last resort- Pull the front brake hard and sharply twist the handlebars through ninety degrees.

Technically I'm on fixed hours but in real life it's a sort of flexi-time as my boss isn't too strict on absolute timekeeping (he sits next to me so I can't get away with anything! So long as I do the hours he's not bothered), I can vary my commute by a few tens of minutes either way.

If it's chucking it down in the morning then I'll get the train to work, sitting at work knowing that you've got to put on soaking biking kit isn't the best thing. 🙄

I thought it was a bit optimistic...

Good suggestions ref full length mudguards though. Sprays not rain once it's hit the road already!

Not in my world 🙁 do you chaps live in the tropics ?

well it's been pissing it down here this morning, but with a water proof jacket and decent full length guards I'm now sat at my desk dry as any other day, apart from slightly damp shorts hanging up behind me you wouldn't know it was raining by looking at me.

does that count as 'gettign wet'?

Have you lot any idea what 'on average' means?

That's not far off for the south coast. It's not often I get wet, it only matters on the way in anyway. 🙂

Have you lot any idea what 'on average' means?

Living in Glasgow i'd get wet [i]on average[/i] a lot more than 7 times a year

On average across the whole country...

Countrywide averages aren't much use for working out whether the weather will warrant wearing a waterproof

Last winter / summer I'd say I got soaked less than 7 times riding in 5 days a week.

I got soaked to the skin at least double that just this month riding to work.

I thought the only bit anyone ever remembered about that was killing dogs with sticks, or choking it with your arm?

I remember a lot of total bollocks in that book including how to roll harmlessly across car bonnets like a seasoned stunt professional... 🙄 I guess being written in the 80's things were very different then!

As statistics go, it's a bit vague really. What counts as "wet". Actually getting heavily rained on or a bit of spray off the roads? Did he get the figure by simply counting the number of times there had been rain at those specific times of day (commuting times) and then extrapolate?

It's not so much riding in the rain that bothers me, it's the general standard of driving when it's raining - for some reason it's far worse than normal.

Countrywide averages aren't much use for working out whether the weather will warrant wearing a waterproof

Did you really think that anyone thinks a long term average takes the place of a weather forecast?

Molgrips Molgrips quite contrary how does your garden grow?

If someone painted a wall white would you argue its a different colour?

A nationwide average is a stupid way to measure someones needs or expectations for cycling so the statement "On average you will only get wet 7 times a year while commuting" is about as useful as "On average the surface of the earth is 16C so there is no point owning a coat"

I don't think so. The statement is intended to point out that for many of us in the UK it doesn't rain as often as we think. My own experience backs this up, as I have an expensive waterproof that doesn't get used all that often.

People think the rain is worse than it is, and often cite getting wet as a reason not to cycle to work or wherever. This is generally unfounded.

This December is an exception of course.

My mum got me this for christmas. Its turned out to be rather too prophetic given our present flooding...

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I live in East Lancs. If you look at a map of the area immediately around my house you'll notice there are rather a lot of reservoirs. You may be amazed to discover that they'd obviously done there homework, and rather than deposit them there at random, they put them there for a very good reason. Because it rains A LOT.

I get drenched all the time commuting. I'm not going to dissolve though, am I? If I was waiting for it to be dry I'd ride twice a year!

Getting wet 7 times a year? pfft! utter cobblers!

People think the rain is worse than it is, and often cite getting wet as a reason not to cycle to work or wherever. This is generally unfounded.

I think it is perfectly true if you expect to commute in the same clothes you work in, which is what most commuters want to do.

I dunno.. almost as many people cite not having anywhere to shower and change as an excuse...

.

sweepy - Member

The bit I remembered was the emergency stop of last resort- Pull the front brake hard and sharply twist the handlebars through ninety degrees.

WTF is that supposed to achieve? Is it for maximising insurance payouts? Don't just hit the car- facebutt it.

Okay checking this theory out in 2016

First wet rain commute this morning.

Only 6 more to go for the year 😕

From a proper scientific point of view there is 99.9% chance for lovely, sunny day as soon as you leave home wearing all the heavy-duty waterproof gear (the extra 0.1% adds when you fit mudguards to the bike).

And only try to forget your jacket...

I also have a 'so what' mentality, it's water. I'm not going to drown.

I agree with this, except that I have to admit: yesterday did my effing head in.

I got so soaked yesterday morning, I might as well have taken a jump in Roath Park Lake (Cardiff) with all my clothes on. Then, after cranking the heat in my office and almost drying off by the end of the day, it was back on the bike for the coldest, wettest ride of my life.

It was absolutely chucking it down. Water was running of cars and buildings in sheets. I have never seen anything like it, except in storm-based disaster movies.

I am not too big to admit that, like when I was little and felt scared in the face of the worst thunder and lightening storms (out in the Canadian West), when that much water falls at once, I feel just a little anxious. Like the whole natural order is turned on its head, and there is nothing we can do about it.

In any case, it's clearer today - thank God - and I remain undaunted. Psychologically damaged by the rain, but undaunted.

Likewise, i'm going to check this out in 2016.

I commute everyday, time varies between 30 minutes to 2 hours so should be a good enough length of time to test it.

(London BTW)

Pfff, it's way more than that, 7 might be right for "absolute wringing wet through, soaked to the skin" but for just "getting properly wet" you need to atleast double that and "damp" is probably another 20+ times.

Having said that I'd still argue waterproof jackets are of very limited use for commuting (unless you're commute is over an hour) something windproof suited to the temperature and a showerproof in my pocket for me.

it hasnt stopped raining here for 5 days.... and its not due to stop entirely till tuesday next week...

thats more than 7 days already in 2016....

IDK, it doesn't sound that far out in my experience.

If I had a regular night ride then I'd only miss a few a year due to it actually raining at the allotted start time.

And even "rained all day" usually only means "rained for about half the actual time".

And if you were a fair weather commuter and didn't ride in if it's raining in the morning, then 7 days where it rained heavily enough between the hours of 4 and 6 that you couldn't time your commute home in the dry doesn't sound so far fetched.

Not get wet so far 2 days into the year, despite looking out the window 9/10 it's be raining both days.

Aren't those studies trying to say that you will only get caught out without any waterproofs 7 days a year. Most people that cycle to work would have some type of shell jacket. I think when I commuted by bike everyday I only got caught out 3 or 4 times a year. Of course it rained many more days than that but I was caught out without waterproofs. A lot of people that don't commute by bike think that you get soaked on a regular basis, when in reality you don't. What is it that cyclist don't like to spend money of decent waterproofs but are happy to pay £100's on gortex jackets. If anyone mentions an expensive £100+ waterproof cycling jacket people always reply How much??

Purely subjective but I walk to work a couple of miles most days. It's very rare that it's properly raining while I'm out definitely less than 7 days/year.

I know this because when I started walking to work I bought a weapons-grade waterproof jacket and I've used it once

and yes this is in England.

Jan 5th two non-rainy commutes and counting 🙂

just wondering if anyone else is statistically going to have a very dry rest of year?

The only surprise that its above this mythical 7 times figure, is that it took the whole of January and a couple of days of Feb to reach it.