[Closed] Is it safe to ride yet - Sahara dust content

I rode last night and am not dead.

Oh, i wouldn't risk it - it gave me a puncture last night on the way home...

OMG Stumpy - you actually went against the government's advise and rode?!

You're a lucky man, or super human

I'm not sure I would be that lucky

All joking aside, my windscreen has needed cleaning a few times each day. Breathing in all that crap cant be good for you.

Still, Im going out for a ride tonight, but will use it as an excuse not to push hard up the hills.

There's a few showers coming in later which should clear things

I went out yesterday and strongly believe that air pollution is the only reason I was panting my way up hills.

News just said its LEVEL 10 in London now which is apparently as bad as it gets. Which must mean its as bad as the Beijing smogs or Mexico city...

rode to work this morning and the air tastes rank, as an aside I assume that the car drivers will not be going out and adding more crap to the air!!!!

Compared to the shite I used to smoke in the 90's today's air is nowt to worry about.

How long has this thing been going on? It's the first I've heard about it and I've been riding daily for the last month. Surely it's no more dusty than riding in the summer on dry trails?

All safe for me in Hants, commute today was nice and quiet 😀

[img] [/img]

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/smog-over-britain-air-pollution-will-get-worse-as-more-drivers-choose-diesel-powered-cars-9233853.html

Zero - you must be living under a rock man. We've been advised to wear masks.

It's hysteria out there!

Can we expect a chorus of Geordie diesel drivers releasing a single of "The Smog on Tyne"?

Why won't the pollution index- o - meter go to 11, even the volume on iplayer does that

I'll blame to the smog for my poor climbing on Monday night then!

The hysteria is quite funny - I've notice a bit of dust on the other half's car after I cleaned it on Sunday and it's a bit hazy.

The Metcheck website is taking the press's view of it very seriously...

😯

The UK really is short of news stories at the moment for this to be a big deal. It's dust and pollution FFS, the dust we kick up when out riding our mountain bikes. And it is polution, the same stuff we breath when road cycling, commuting, sitting in traffic jams etc.

I've just been for a run for the first time in nearly 3 weeks and I can confirm that this air pollution seriously affects your fitness.

Stay at home

kimbers
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/smog-over-britain-air-pollution-will-get-worse-as-more-drivers-choose-diesel-powered-cars-9233853.html

Have i accidentally clicked through to the Daily Mail? That has got to be the worst article ever! Ignoring the fact that in terms of airborne pollution direct injected petrol cars create the greater amount of small particulate matter (ie the stuff that floats up into the air, not the big black sooty stuff that comes out of a derv and pretty much immediately falls out of suspension and lands on the road!), are we really so pathetic that we are suggesting kids can't go outside?

(The reason we have more "smog" than we used to (although in real terms our air, both in the country and the city has never been cleaner...) is because we have more cars and lorries (of any type) and more industry, and more population, and critically, we now have lots more accurate measurement stations capable of measuring these low levels of pollution)

The UK really is short of news stories at the moment for this to be a big deal. It's dust and pollution FFS, the dust we kick up when out riding our mountain bikes. And it is polution, the same stuff we breath when road cycling, commuting, sitting in traffic jams etc.

I live near Birmingham,in fact I can see right across the city from a window,it looks bad out there.
heading out for an hour on the bike,wish me luck,if I don't make it....it's been fun....

wwaswas - Member

Can we expect a chorus of Geordie diesel drivers releasing a single of "The Smog on Tyne"?

Unikely, it is foggy up here but as the graph shows the pollution level is low.

I was also out last night. Even got some new PRs on the single speed and I'm not dead.

News just said its LEVEL 10 in London now which is apparently as bad as it gets. Which must mean its as bad as the Beijing smogs or Mexico city...

No, apparently we use a different scale. There was some guy on the radio who said that their 10 would be off the scale for us (something like 100 off the top of his head).

Everyone laughed at me when I opted for a camel instead of a company car. Who's laughing now?

As the camel dies of exposure .....

I have asthma and live in Essex....

Rode 20 miles yesterday and felt no different to any other day

All a load of rollox if you ask me

It is a reflection on the accuracy of the press , when the Guardian has a picture of the Angel of the North 'in the smog' when it is actually just mist. Sigh

Went out for about 3 hours last night. Honestly, didn't notice any different!

My car could do with a clean, but its always dirty anyway!

I'm back.and I'm not dead.and neither is my wife.

I've been trail running all week in that London. Of all the places suffering, here in this bit, we're all fine thx MWAxxx.

It seems such a shame to dispell the mass panic that I can see from my office window, all those desperate souls keeling over, head in hands, bloated red faces with snot running form thier nose that I shall now proclaim it's all horseshit. 😀

Well, having just got back from a ride (Clent Hills), I'm going to come down on the side of Bad

I could taste a dry salty thing in my mouth and the back of my throat was 'full of it'. Eyes were a bit streamy too

The car roof's were covered with brown dust, and a roadie I talked to concurred

Here's a pic

[img] [/img]

bonesetter

I could taste a dry salty thing in my mouth and the back of my throat was 'full of it'.

😯

er....

So how do you tell? Everyone at work is all "ooo look at the smog, you can't see the hill outside any more!" but it just looks misty, and I couldn't tell any difference biking in earlier... am I slowly dying without realising?

I rode yesterday in East Anglia - one of the worst effected areas apparently - I didn't notice any particular difference but we did have a typical Fens wind blowing which may of cleared it locally.
Having some warning for those with medical conditions is worth while but the media as usual has gone way OTT on this.

I think it's a combination of a low cloudy day combined with the desert dust and then the rest of the normal car fume stuff, so you end up with a denser, more toxic mix

I think its been grim out for the last couple of days. Smells different and not pleasant imo.

Keef - Member

bonesetter

I could taste a dry salty thing in my mouth and the back of my throat was 'full of it'.

er....

LOL euphemism of the week 😀

^^ it wasn't intentional, but I suppose this is singlecrack

I could taste a dry salty thing in my mouth and the back of my throat was 'full of it'.

Fnaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrr

Edit damn beaten to it!

just got from a night ride in the surrey hills

You could see all the dust particles in the air illuminated by lights

And I've now got a sore throat and cheat feels a bit rough

Feels like when I rode in smog conditions in Phoenix one year when they had a temperature inversion which held in all the pollution and dust.

Not pleasant, Hopefully I wont die... But its not raining and the trails are dry so they have to be ridden