Got this today from the are article on how to ride your bike to work, dealing with something I haven’t thought about, pollution intake when riding your bike.
Arturo had this to say
“Hi. I ride almost every day to work in Mexico City, one of the most congested cities in the world. I ride flat for some 2.5 miles, then uphill for some 5 miles from 7450 ft. to 8322 ft ASL.
I ride a mountain bike, which must weight a little less than 20 pounds: it’s a commuting bike, so it has no fancy gadgets, and I’ve never felt like I would need shocks/springs or any high-tech breaking systems. I think biking is about keeping things simple, and as we say here: it’s mostly the Indian that counts, not the arrow.
The ride up is kind of tedious, but riding back home is a fascinating experience. With gravity on my favour, I go as fast, or even faster than the traffic (some 30mph), and of course I get to go in between the cars and pass everyone when cars stop at the red light.
Going up in the morning sets me up for the day: I listen to the news while riding, to keep my mind busy and forget about the slow pace (which at is anyways faster than all the cars where the traffic totally jams). At the same time, I burn a lot of calories, so I don’t have to worry about working out to keep myself fit, but there’s one warning: cycling will never make you get rid of that belly, if you eat too much… either do some abs, or reduce your calorie income! It is good for the legs, though.
I could ride down back home at an easy pace, but I like the speed and the adrenaline rush: this is a personal taste and is totally unnecessary; I trust my riding experience and still ride defensively, as most have stated here. People in traffic have been amazingly polite. I have been commuting to work for 10 years now; sometimes it has been very close to home, and sometimes further, like now. With this job, I’ve been riding for some 2 months, and I have only ran across one asshole in the road in this period. The rest of the time, everybody has been either neutral, or quite considerate, which has surprised me: I think bike awareness among motorists has rose quite considerably in the last few years.
I’ve read this whole thread, and nobody has mentioned anything about wearing a pollution mask. In my case, this is a must. I use 3M 8514 disposable masks, with an activated carbon filter and an “exhaust†valve to keep things cooler inside the mask. Disposable respirators, as they also call them, are compact and don’t look too weird. It also keeps you safe from bad odors from some streets, and lets you ride by the trucks and buses with confidence, even if they are pumping out lots of smoke.
I would recommend people using Google Earth to find their optimal commuting route, specially if you are going to ride up or down-hill.
Greetings!”
I have been very surprised at the number of interesting comments from people about riding their bikes, if you have one feel free to add along with the others.
Do you worry about breathing in fumes when you ride your bike? I sometimes notice that I have a raw feeling in my lungs if it is a particularly smoggy day, and I can’t help but notice the stink of the cars and buses when I am close to the tail pipe. I wonder if riding your bike could negatively impact your health by exposing you to toxins from the cars you are trying to avoid? My solution of course would not be to stop riding my bike, but to get more people to start riding theirs (lowing the amount of emissions). What do you think?
My morning commute always crosses path with the number 16 bus. My nemesis. It always overtakes me then stops every two seconds to load/off load, I can’t overtake it easily (and if I do it just returns the favour straight away) and it pumps out this horrible gunky black smoke. definitely my (and my latent asthma’s) least favourite part of the day…
Thanks for the quote. I usually find myself at par with buse’s rythm: first they pass you, then they stop and so you pass them, and so on. If the street you are riding on is just full of busses, there is not much to do (except wear a mask!). If it is not so full, just let the bus go away and then resume late enough so that you never pass him. Keep yourself some 45 feet behind the bus if you catch it on a stop light.
Once I stopped riding to work because I found my lungs hurt when I got to the office (I’m a programmer) and even felt a bit dizzy. Now I wear a mask, and the pollution issue is over.
One way to know how much smoke you are getting in your lungs is to get a disposable respirator, then ride for a while on your route, and then take the respirator off. You will immediately notice the odor, which you would otherwise not feel, since you get used to it as you start your ride without the mask. Then, as your lungs pull air, you may feel disconfort in your chest, as they get used to the contrast of breathing filtered air, and now having full exposure to your “normal” pollution levels.
It is worth to note too, that people who go by car, don’t notice the level of pollution, asi the car itself protects them from the air outside, and most cars have filters that clean the air a bit, when using AC or similars.
A good, cheap and effective mask that you can get for testing is the 3M 8247; you can find these respirators at industrial safety stores, or on-line. Just make sure they have an activated carbon layer.
http://products3.3m.com/catalog/us/en001/safety/occ_health_safety/node_GSZSYX4P4Ngs/root_GST1T4S9TCgv/vroot_5SDD44F7DZge/bgel_GS36S26CG6bl/gvel_RL5PK085P3gl/theme_us_ohes_3_0/command_AbcPageHandler/output_html
Another fancy option is a Respro mask
http://www.singletrackworld.com/article.php?sid=248
but both are just as good; Respros have exhalation valves, but so does the 3M 8514, which is still much cheaper.
Greetings from Mexico.
3M 8514 disposable masks are good for air pollution.
I have a Respro Techno, and I use a Sportsta for keeping my face warm during snowboarding. I got them from http://www.metrolung.com These guys are awesome and I wouldn’t THINK of going out without my mask anymore.
Take care everyone,
Eric
I think the masks look stupid but I wear one every time I am cycling in the city.
I have heard the view against using these masks (that they stop you from breathing properly, that they don’t effectively filter out any fumes and that most pollution magically drops to knee-height) but I do know that I am no longer left with black dust on my teeth, so they are definitely doing something positive. Breathing has never been a difficulty.
“The ride up is kind of tedious, but riding back home is a fascinating experience. With gravity on my favour, I go as fast, or even faster than the traffic (some 30mph), and of course I get to go in between the cars and pass everyone when cars stop at the red light.”…. freaky.