Hopefully, the original poster has it all figured out by now.
I tried a rain cape early on. It is the bicycling equivalent of an umbrella. Meaning that if you go slow and it's not windy and you have fenders, it works great. If it's windy or you try to ride fast or don't have fenders, then not so good, and you're going to get wet.
Reading of the British cycling experience mentioned above, I wonder if perhaps they don't have more rain and less wind than in some other places, which would shift the preference around.
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"be careful this rando stuff is addictive and dan's the 'pusher'."