Well, there you go. One more Labour Day gone and along with it another fair-weather cyclist season. From here the days start to get darker and colder and the numbers of "discretionary" cyclists start to drop away, leaving the roads and trails to the hard core utility cyclists.
In Melbourne the season for "fair-weather" cycling usually starts around Melbourne Cup Day. The first sign of warmth in the springtime sunshine prompts the dusting-off of many a neglected treadly across the city and the shared pathways swell with wobbly riders getting reacquainted with that skill - once learned, never forgotten just a little rusty after all this time (much like that old bike really). Others do it "properly" - you seem to see more bright clean Lycra and flashy new bikes at that time of year.
But Labour Day marks the beginning of hibernation for the fair-weather cyclists, although the tapering-off is slower than the sudden arrival of new (or renewed) cyclists in spring.
In defence of autumn
I've got to say that I don't think the height of summer is a particularly pleasant time for riding. Now I'm as guilty as the next mad cyclist of heading out on those days when the heat suggests that a-lolling under a tree with an icy cold drink would be a better option. But in my case that's just plain stupidity - there's not much fun in it (unless you count that hitting-your-head-against-a-brick-wall kind of fun). A hot summer's day is not the best time to be jumping back on the ol' bike. Unfortunately plenty of people think it is - and they are probably put off by the hot and exhausting experience, perhaps for good.
No, autumn is the best time for cycling in Melbourne. Mornings are often mild and still, and the days are sunny and pleasantly warm rather than scorching. It's got to be the worst-kept secret - the joys of autumn riding are just waiting there to be discovered by anyone who continues to ride beyond Labour Day. In fact, I've already been enjoying plenty of those mild mornings already this year - even on days that turned out to be scorchers.
Transformation
I think every year some fair-weather cyclists don't moth-ball their bikes for winter. "Why give up just when the riding conditions are so good?" they must think. And before they know it, they're taking off in the dark and rain of a mid-winter's morning and they've become a true year-round cycling commuter.
And I guess that's why it's good to see all those new (or lapsed) cyclists getting out on the trails in spring. Oh sure I love a grumble. So I'll mutter darkly to myself when I'm held up by that guy who's forgotten how to work his gears, or this woman who's zig-zagging all over the path, and especially by that bloke whose seat is far, far too low. But I know that come the end of the fair-weather cycling season some of them will be hooked - permanently.
And after riding through the winter they'll be a different kind of cyclist altogether. Certainly no-one would dare call them "fair-weather" then.