I travel by tube during the winter months and use my bike when the weather is more benign.
Transport for London increased their season tickets by a whooping 5% (a monthly travel card for zones 1 and 2 was GBP89.10 and, from 1st January 2008, GBP94).
I checked when my biking season should start again. I may have to wait until March to escape most of the days free of air frost in London - Greenwich (7 m AMSL) averages:
| Max Temp | Min Temp | Days of Air Frost | Sunshine | Days of Rainfall >= 1mm | |
| Month | [ºC] | [ºC] | [days] | [hours] | [days] |
| Jan | 7.9 | 2.4 | 7.4 | 45.9 | 10.9 |
| Feb | 8.2 | 2.2 | 7.4 | 66.1 | 8.1 |
| Mar | 10.9 | 3.8 | 2.9 | 103.2 | 9.8 |
| Apr | 13.3 | 5.2 | 1.1 | 147 | 9.3 |
| May | 17.2 | 8 | 0.1 | 185.4 | 8.5 |
| Jun | 20.2 | 11.1 | 0 | 180.6 | 8.4 |
| Jul | 22.8 | 13.6 | 0 | 190.3 | 7 |
| Aug | 22.6 | 13.3 | 0 | 194.4 | 7.2 |
| Sep | 19.3 | 10.9 | 0 | 139.2 | 8.7 |
| Oct | 15.2 | 8 | 0.3 | 109.7 | 9.3 |
| Nov | 10.9 | 4.8 | 3 | 60.6 | 9.3 |
| Dec | 8.8 | 3.3 | 6.9 | 37.8 | 10.1 |
It is quite clear that trying to choose months with less rainy days than others is mission impossible here. The lack of wind is, for me, more important than rain to ensure a pleasant ride to work, but unfortunately this table from the MetOffice doesn’t provide any data about it.
So days of air frost and the hours of sunshine make biking in London more pleasant from March to October. Drivers of 4×4, Mini and Volkswagen Beetle, from March on, leave your ridiculous machines at home and let bicycles, skates and pedestrians reclaim their space!
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