General Cycling Discussion - Toronto smog is killing me!

What the heck is going on? The air quality has been so bad the past few days. Yesterday I had to cut a ride short because I was having trouble breathing. The Brampton area where I live has "high particulate matter" in the air, caused perhaps by all the construction? I'm really not sure. Then of course a couple of million cars on the road sure doesn't help.

The thing is, we normally get bad smog in July & August, but this is WAY early. Is this how things are going to be from now on? Where can we move to get away from all this???

What the heck is going on? The air quality has been so bad the past few days. Yesterday I had to cut a ride short because I was having trouble breathing. The Brampton area where I live has "high particulate matter" in the air, caused perhaps by all the construction? I'm really not sure. Then of course a couple of million cars on the road sure doesn't help.

The thing is, we normally get bad smog in July & August, but this is WAY early. Is this how things are going to be from now on? Where can we move to get away from all this???

Check the pollen count on you local weather site. Allergens are high right now in Rochester and I guessing the same is true for Toronto.

Check the pollen count on you local weather site. Allergens are high right now in Rochester and I guessing the same is true for Toronto.

Yes, the pollen count is high now, but I'm talking SMOG. Like you can't see buildings on the horizon that are nomally crystal clear. It feels like I'm trying to breathe sandpaper. Better today though.

I know what you mean. I took the long way home yesterday because I'm trying to up my weekly mileage (kilometerage?) and regretted it from the very start. It was humid, and it felt as though I was breathing through dust-laden cotton wool. Would things be better if public transport went further out to the suburbs and there were fewer gas-guzzling SUVs around? But Sunday was glorious. Can't it stay like that all year?

It's cause of the warm air mass/above seasonal norm temps. Way to go Toronto. At any rate temperatures dropped a lot this evening. It was 10 here when can weather reported 15 downtown. It's just temporary I think. Rest of the weeks forecast looks norm.

What the heck is going on? The air quality has been so bad the past few days.

Uh... Welcome to TO. It's always like this (or worse). And be prepared because what I suspect is that it's going to be a hot, humid summer. This will, of course, translate into many "smog days". Listening to the weather report before you leave can help you learn which days those are. If you are having difficulties breathing on these days, visit your doctor to get check for asthma. Up until I moved into Toronto directly (downtown) I never had asthma (and it's been quiet since I've started biking heavily).

But being exposed to the higher amounts of pollution did result in me becoming an adult asthma sufferer. So you may be starting to show symptoms (asthma isn't just "weezing"; it's coughing constantly as well). The Ontario Lung Association (http://www.on.lung.ca/asthmaaction/asthmaaction.html) has some information that might help.

I loved Toronto in the winter and I hated it in the summer and only because of the SMOG. My lungs are a lot happier now that I live out side of the smog zone. I sure wish the governments and citzens of North America would take this a little bit more seriously then they do.

Would things be better if public transport went further out to the suburbs and there were fewer gas-guzzling SUVs around?

Possibly, but transit would operate at an extremely high deficit. I live right on the edge of service here in R.H. The worst part of a all transit commute is the bus. It takes 40-50minutes to get to Finch station and i'm only 15km from there. You would also have to compete with the (admittedley sparse) GO train service which takes only 40 mins from here to Union.

If anything, if they just increased the amount of GO Train runs around here, I think more people would see it as a viable choice. No crowding, less noise, no akward connecting bus trip, very comfortable.

Toronto's not alone. I've been having problems with my contacts that I can only suspect are pollution-caused. They hurt and burn at least once per long ride -- and that's with sunglasses on. Maybe it's pollen, too. Hmm.

100 km away in Waterloo, it's not too bad at all. I hate going to downtown Toronto, it's just so busy and crowded...

Possibly, but transit would operate at an extremely high deficit. I live right on the edge of service here in R.H. The worst part of a all transit commute is the bus. It takes 40-50minutes to get to Finch station and i'm only 15km from there. You would also have to compete with the (admittedley sparse) GO train service which takes only 40 mins from here to Union.

If anything, if they just increased the amount of GO Train runs around here, I think more people would see it as a viable choice. No crowding, less noise, no akward connecting bus trip, very comfortable.

I've heard about that train and how you need to connect with a bus to complete the trip. Sad if you ask me.

Why not bring a small folding bike on the train. I'm sure they won't say anything if it's bagged and you won't have to become dependant on the bus.