The weather in Britain is just not suitable for cycling

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Summary of the claim 

A brief summary of what is being claimed, variants of the claim, and the consequences of the claim. One short paragraph should suffice: further detail can go in the essay below.

Example sources

Notable, influential, good quality or extreme examples of the claim. Again, keep it short.

Summary of responses

The weather in Britain is very similar to (if not better than) the weather in The Netherlands and in Denmark, both countries where cycling is a serious mode of transport, all year round, forming a large percentage (20-30%) of all trips people make.

In more detail

The temperature is fine. Copenhagen is, on average, between London and Manchester/Glasgow in terms of temperature. 

London has a lower average annual rainfall total than Copenhagen, Eindhoven and Amsterdam. (Amsterdam receives 40% more rainfall, per year). Manchester's annual rainfall total is comparable to Amsterdam. 

The amount of wind is fine. Copenhagen and Eindhoven have slightly higher average windspeed than London, Manchester and Glasgow.

Some numbers. Over the last 10 years -

London

  • Lowest: -6°C
  • Average low: 4°C
  • Average high: 22°C
  • High: 34°C
  • Humidity: 71%
  • Windspeed: 4m/s
  • Average annual rainfall: 601mm

Manchester

  • Lowest: -18°C
  • Average low: -4°C
  • Average high: 19°C
  • High: 31°C
  • Humidity: 82%
  • Windspeed: 4m/s
  • Average annual rainfall: 806mm

Glasgow

  • Lowest: -14°C
  • Average low: -3°C
  • Average high: 19°C
  • Highest: 29°C
  • Humidity: 83%
  • Windspeed: 4m/s
  • Average annual rainfall: 1245mm

Copenhagen

  • Lowest: -13°C
  • Average low: 0°C
  • Average high: 18°C
  • Highest: 31°C
  • Humidity: 79%
  • Windspeed: 5m/s
  • Average annual rainfall: 613mm

Eindhoven

  • Lowest: -20°C
  • Average low: -1°C
  • Average high: 23°C
  • Highest: 37°C
  • Humidity: 78%
  • Windspeed: 4m/s
  • Average annual rainfall: 741mm

Amsterdam

  • Lowest: -19°C
  • Average low: 1°C
  • Average high: 21°C
  • Highest: 34°C
  • Humidity: 80%
  • Windspeed: 5m/s
  • Average annual rainfall: 838mm

Source: Wolfram Alpha

Further reading

Bulleted list of links to relevant blogs, books, etc, which cover the topic of the page. If the link is to reinforce one specific point being made, it would be better to use footnotes and references.

Footnotes and references