With all the talk of rail fare hikes this week, not to mention the threat to £400,000-worth of bus service cuts in Southampton to meet budgets, is it little wonder that taking to our bikes has suddenly become a national obsession.

I’m not so certain this has anything to do with getting fit and wishing to feel the wind in our hair, and more to do with the fact no one can afford to travel anywhere by anything else.

If only the weather would play its part. The prospect of getting caught in a flash flood wearing just my Lycra shorts is the only thing stopping me from wiggling my backside to Redbridge, I assure you.