I was pleased to read the most cycle-friendly employer in the West is a company based in Bath, Buro Happold, who has seen a 50 per cent increase in cycling among its staff.

Many other local companies were accredited for encouraging their staff to use greener forms of transport to get to work, and I know from talking to friends who work in Bath that most employers go beyond simply installing a bike rack to encourage more cycling.

One in particular has a rather envious changing facility, complete with heated cupboards to dry out wet gear. There are plenty of bike racks outside my office, but I never leave mine locked up. I carry it up a flight of stairs and park it on the landing in my office.

I know that this isn’t practical for everyone, but since I spent more on my bike than I did on my first car, you may forgive me for seeming a little overcautious.

I also have an emotional attachment to my bicycle that is quite hard to explain, but having weathered many miles together she feels like an old friend and one I don’t want to be parted from. You may think I am sad but at least I have not named her – yet!

But in all seriousness, bicycle theft is a real problem. According to one report more than 7,800 bike thefts were reported in May alone this year and insurers’ state that on average you are likely to have your bike stolen within 23 months of buying it. Here in Bath we are no less vulnerable than other cities. We suffered badly at the hands of professional thieves recently when a gang stole 25k worth of bicycles from the Odd Down Cycling Circuit.

So what should we do to protect our bicycles and help recover them if they are stolen? The general advice is to invest in a heavy duty D-Lock, rather than a cable one and make sure you lock it up correctly so that the lock is around a major part of the frame and preferably around a wheel as well.

Registering the make and model, frame number and taking a picture of your bicycle, as well making a note of any scratches or marks that identify your bicycle as unique, is worth doing. I suggest you register using the national police approved database www.bikeregister.com which also has a free bike checker service where people purchasing a second-hand bike can check it is not listed as stolen.

While reading the stats and experiences of people trying to recover their bicycles is a bit depressing, I had a wry smile when I read Richmond CID recently caught a bike thief in an Asda car park using plain clothes officers and handed him a 12-week prison sentence.

The police clamp down on bike theft with hefty penalties is good to see and their advice is if you are buying a secondhand bike always ask for proof of purchase, or don’t buy it. While I am not sure a D-Lock will convince me to leave my precious bicycle out of sight, I will certainly get on and register it now.

@lindadonaldson1