What’s your bad air quality strategy?

[anomad]

What do you do on days when there is an air quality warning? Today and yesterday I have gotten messages from cleanairpartners.net that the ozone is pushing the air quality index up into unhealthy levels. I take it easy pretty much all the time, so I just go even slower on bad air days here.

When I lived in Salt Lake City the winter would bring periods of terrible particulate pollution. I would just row inside on those days with a good HEPA air filter running in the house. Ozone buildup wasn’t an issue because the summers were windy and low humidity. I’ve never tried one of the respirators and I have read mixed opinions on their effectiveness. Ozone doesn’t seem to bother me till it gets up pretty high, but the particulate pollution really affected my breathing.

If you’re not paying attention to air quality and planning how hard you push when its bad, I encourage you to do so. Keep it super mellow in the evenings when the AQI is high.

Topic

[Judd]

@anomad 160207 wrote:

What do you do on days when there is an air quality warning?

I suffer.

[Emm]

My asthma gets pretty rough when the air quality is poor. Similar to you I just slow down. I also avoid the big hill at the end of my commute since feeling like I cant breathe is pretty miserable. At home we keep windows closed and a good air filter running. I also do things to avoid other allergens like dust and mold during days I know the air quality is already bad.

I keep riding though. I don’t think air quality has ever gotten me off my bike. It’s gotten me to bike slow, and maybe not as far, but it’s never stopped me from commuting before.

[huskerdont]

I read a comment from someone once where he said he practiced shallow breathing when the air was bad. I don’t think there’s any basis to this whatsoever, but you have to pretend you’re doing something. Not going to wear a filter or a mask, and you gotta get to work. I’ve tried breathing less but there are a lot of hills about and it doesn’t seem to work for me.

[MFC]

As pollution impact can be very location specific, I move to the front of the line when at a light to minimize the amount of exhaust I am breathing in. Other than that, not much else. There are at least some studies that indicate that if you only ride a few hours a day in all but the most polluted cities, you will be below the tipping point where the risks of exposure to pollution outweigh the benefits on exercise. https://qz.com/686131/how-long-you-can-cycle-before-the-harm-from-pollution-exceeds-the-benefits-of-exercise/

[Harry Meatmotor]

Electric KOM Killing Meatmotor

[anomad]

@MFC 160220 wrote:

As pollution impact can be very location specific, I move to the front of the line when at a light to minimize the amount of exhaust I am breathing in. Other than that, not much else. There are at least some studies that indicate that if you only ride a few hours a day in all but the most polluted cities, you will be below the tipping point where the risks of exposure to pollution outweigh the benefits on exercise. https://qz.com/686131/how-long-you-can-cycle-before-the-harm-from-pollution-exceeds-the-benefits-of-exercise/

Just to clarify, the type of air quality index warning we experienced today is not from point sources like a busy road or one factory. Regardless, getting in front of a bunch of smelly cars is always a good idea.

Ozone is formed in the atmosphere by solar energy pushing a chemical reaction between Oxygen, Nitrogen Oxides, and volatile organic compounds. It is very much a regional problem. https://www3.epa.gov/airnow/ozone/o3.html

[vvill]

When I commuted regularly I did use a mask some days in the summer. I have a bunch of the disposable carbon activated ones you’ll see in Asian cities, but also a Respro that has replaceable filters.

[rcannon100]

I ride.

[consularrider]

@rcannon100 160232 wrote:

I ride.

I breathe.

[Drewdane]

Accept I’ll probably die a day or two earlier than I otherwise would.

(edit: I don’t have asthma or any other condition which would make bad air quality days a potential immediate threat to my health)

[ImaCynic]

Three letters… P.E.D. I prefer Albuterol

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[anomad]

@f148vr 160291 wrote:

Three letters… P.E.D. I prefer Albuterol

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

Spaceballs had that figured out a long time ago.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]14786[/ATTACH]

[closebr]

I used to live in Salt Lake City too, where those winter inversions really got me down. It sure is hard to ride outside with all that dense smog in the air. One of the things I really like about DC is the generally good air quality. As far as bad ozone days, DC seems to stay within the zone where the benefits of riding outweigh the air quality risks, in my opinion.

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[JonRobot]

for that air quality alert yesterday i tried riding with a light cloth over my mouth and nose trying to act like a filter. it made me feel significantly hotter, soaked through, and made it harder to breathe. i think i may just have to take the (potentially minor) hit to my lungs or just take a shorter route.

[Crickey7]

@JonRobot 163076 wrote:

for that air quality alert yesterday i tried riding with a light cloth over my mouth and nose trying to act like a filter. it made me feel significantly hotter, soaked through, and made it harder to breathe. i think i may just have to take the (potentially minor) hit to my lungs or just take a shorter route.

I just yelled a lot at drivers in order to get the bad air out of my lungs.

[Author]

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