Southern California - Bike or Not

Mark said he just got into burbank and smelled smoke so he is cancelling...I am

I can smell smoke in Sherman Oaks and my eyes are burning (of course, I'm sensitive to this crap). But, you guys are smart to cancel, IMHO.

I can smell smoke in Sherman Oaks and my eyes are burning (of course, I'm sensitive to this crap). But, you guys are smart to cancel, IMHO.

yeah...I can feel it as well....I will sit inside and work on my trainer...I have hepa filters in every room (I have cats)..so inside should be pretty good

yeah...just a few pieces..but enough that I wont ride

I was referring to a different post....

I won't ride in this, or exercise at all outdoors, until the air quality returns to normal. I even missed my beloved Wednesday evening basketball game today.

Air quality:

http://www.airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=airnow.showlocal&CityID=130

I so really need to ride. :(

I'm climbing the walls. I may just do back-to-back-to-back spin classes tomorrow. Or I may ride to the far side of the peninsula in search of cleaner air.

I so really need to ride. :(

I'm climbing the walls. I may just do back-to-back-to-back spin classes tomorrow. Or I may ride to the far side of the peninsula in search of cleaner air.

I so know what you mean. I took a spin today, my 53 minute loop only took 1:06, argh....the air was ok but it was hot when I went. Tomorrow I am hoping for cooler weather and hope to get a longer ride in.

I was referring to a different post....



D'oh....sorry

tomorrow i rebel....good or bad im riding to work...

tomorrow i rebel....good or bad im riding to work...

Aces

the ace of spades, the ace of spades......perhaps all the falling ash will add a nice patina to my bag...

Me too. I think I can tough it out for a little 6 mile commute. I promise I won't breathe the entire time. I'm going stir crazy.

I so really need to ride. :(

I'm climbing the walls. I may just do back-to-back-to-back spin classes tomorrow. Or I may ride to the far side of the peninsula in search of cleaner air.

I know how you feel! I just took a spin class at the Torrance YMCA. It was only an hour and I was begging for more :( !!

I know how you feel! I just took a spin class at the Torrance YMCA. It was only an hour and I was begging for more :( !!

Yup. My gym's spin classes (as well as their spinbikes) leave something to de desired, although one of the Monday instructors is pretty good (she's Ironman). Last winter, I would start spinning at 4:30am with some other refugee cyclists, and "ride" right through the 5:30 and 7:00 classes.

I'm going to attempt another ride. I think I'll go over the hill to the side of the bluffs and see what the air is like. :(

Did my cardio at the gym for the first time in months - 45 min. on the elliptical. I was happy to see my biking has kept me in pretty good shape. I was able to sustain 162 bpm (95% of max) for 5 minutes straight. But it was boring. I miss the outdoors.

Air quality today (Thursday) improved from "U" (unhealthy) to "USG" (unhealthy for special groups). That's good news.

http://www.airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=airnow.showlocal&CityID=130

Just got back from my ride. The air is noticeably better today in the South Bay, although there was a giant cloud of "something" near the water treatment plant.

I started the climb to PV and as soon as I started breathing hard my chest seized up. Prolly more of a reaction to yesterday's ride than today's. Turn around - no hills today! :( Ended up doing 90 minutes of easy one-leg drills up and down the Strand. Normally those would bore me silly, but I was just happy to be riding at all.

You did 90 minutes of one leg drills? Wow.

You did 90 minutes of one leg drills? Wow.

Prolly more like an hour total time. I had to clip in both feet when the path curved or I had to go up small inclines. The path was nearly deserted today. I passed the Pier Ride and there were fewer than ten riders.

Sigh. :rolleyes: I sure wish I was lucky enough to risk my lungs. Why don't you people believe that the particles you can't see or smell are still in the air? I know I'm super sensitive with my silly little asthma thing, but trust me, those particles can eventually effect your perfect lungs too. Really, go to the gym!

I've gone every day this week even yesterday when I felt like a cow's ass. At least it's exercise and there is this thing called "cross training." It's revolutionary and ground breaking! And it's where you do anything other than the one thing you do all the time. So, see, in the case of you cyclicts, you would walk, run and/or lift weights (all verbs by the way, and if you need definitions or in-depth descriptions of what any of these activities are, please PM me). It's amazing, it does keep you in shape, but you DON'T RISK YOU LUNGS!

/sarcastic rant

:p:D

I've been parked in a chair since Sunday. I didn't even do my normal "ride to lunch" deal. This air sucks.

Air in the west SFV is crap today.

Riding in to work was fairly unpleasant, the sun is the color of a blood orange.

Last night the air wasn't too bad in the "bowl" I live in at the top of the hill. So after 9 PM I went out for a short ride, taking it easy and breathing through my nose most of the time. Every time I would climb up one of the roads leading out of the bowl, the air was worse at the top, so I ended up doing laps around the bowl.

On the really noticeable bad days, I can see the rationale for staying indoors. But on the days where you can't smell the particles (assumably because they're small), can the A/C really filter them out and make a difference?

Really, go to the gym!

If I went to the gym, how could I have met the cute tri guy on the Calfee? :p;)

If I went to the gym, how could I have met the cute tri guy on the Calfee? :p;)

Did you notice the guy or bike more?

If unsure, what components were on the bike and did the guy have all his teeth?

I didn't notice his componentry right off, as it was a TT rig. Yes, he had all his teeth. Squeaky pedal or BB, too.

saw the orange sun that cassave mentioned and i couldnt pull the trigger on riding.....god i hope this clears up soon....

I'll probably be out again today.

Air is bad but I'm riding this afternoon.

I didn't notice his componentry right off, as it was a TT rig. Yes, he had all his teeth. Squeaky pedal or BB, too.
You know what they say about men with squeaky bottom brackets, don't you?

On the really noticeable bad days, I can see the rationale for staying indoors. But on the days where you can't smell the particles (assumably because they're small), can the A/C really filter them out and make a difference?

Biran, it isn't about not breathing the air in any amount (i.e. completely getting away from the air - which isn't possible unless you leave southern CA), it's more about the fact that your airways open up significantly when you exercise (here is a link to a lengthy article if you have nothing better to do today and bore of this site: http://books.google.com/books?id=1b0iwv8-jGcC&pg=PA153&lpg=PA153&dq=lungs+expand+during+exercise&source=web&ots=LHEAPxPbSl&sig=jlWIHgBwYxtFAd2XJS8T1QSEyA8#PPA139,M1) and you take in more air deeper into your lungs. That means, as you ride your bike, you basically take in over three to four times more air than what you would if you are just sitting on your couch. Same for the gym. The risk goes up as your lungs expand, but at least indoors with the air conditioning on (and most modern gyms do have filters in their central air systems) you aren't getting the brunt of the nastiness that is out there now.

You know what they say about men with squeaky bottom brackets, don't you?

No.... http://www.freesmileys.org/emo/basic/dunce.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org)

Biran, it isn't about not breathing the air in any amount (i.e. completely getting away from the air - which isn't possible unless you leave southern CA), it's more about the fact that your airways open up significantly when you exercise (here is a link to a lengthy article if you have nothing better to do today and bore of this site: http://books.google.com/books?id=1b0iwv8-jGcC&pg=PA153&lpg=PA153&dq=lungs+expand+during+exercise&source=web&ots=LHEAPxPbSl&sig=jlWIHgBwYxtFAd2XJS8T1QSEyA8#PPA139,M1) and you take in more air deeper into your lungs. That means, as you ride your bike, you basically take in over three to four times more air than what you would if you are just sitting on your couch. Same for the gym. The risk goes up as your lungs expand, but at least indoors with the air conditioning on (and most modern gyms do have filters in their central air systems) you aren't getting the brunt of the nastiness that is out there now.
Yup, I agree about the airways opening up, etc. I just wasn't sure whether the reason they advised people to stay indoors was that the air quality was truly better indoors, or if it was because people are less likely to exercise as hard indoors.

It would be interesting to know what the trade offs would be between getting aerobic exercise but in bad air, versus not breathing as much of the bad air but not getting the benefits of aerobic exercise.

Yup, I agree about the airways opening up, etc. I just wasn't sure whether the reason they advised people to stay indoors was that the air quality was truly better indoors, or if it was because people are less likely to exercise as hard indoors.

It would be interesting to know what the trade offs would be between getting aerobic exercise but in bad air, versus not breathing as much of the bad air but not getting the benefits of aerobic exercise.

Not getting exercise for 5 days is only going to effect my sanity. Overall health won't be touched.

Well, I consider my sanity as part of my mental health. :)

Biran, it isn't about not breathing the air in any amount (i.e. completely getting away from the air - which isn't possible unless you leave southern CA), it's more about the fact that your airways open up significantly when you exercise (here is a link to a lengthy article if you have nothing better to do today and bore of this site: http://books.google.com/books?id=1b0iwv8-jGcC&pg=PA153&lpg=PA153&dq=lungs+expand+during+exercise&source=web&ots=LHEAPxPbSl&sig=jlWIHgBwYxtFAd2XJS8T1QSEyA8#PPA139,M1) and you take in more air deeper into your lungs. That means, as you ride your bike, you basically take in over three to four times more air than what you would if you are just sitting on your couch. Same for the gym. The risk goes up as your lungs expand, but at least indoors with the air conditioning on (and most modern gyms do have filters in their central air systems) you aren't getting the brunt of the nastiness that is out there now.

I vote for sitting on the couch today...

It would be interesting to know what the trade offs would be between getting aerobic exercise but in bad air, versus not breathing as much of the bad air but not getting the benefits of aerobic exercise.

Well, here is where you lost me. I get a better workout indoors sometimes, especially when running. I'm not used to it, so 45 minutes running on the treadmill kicks my butt. Then if I add another 45 mins to an hour weight work on top of that, I'm getting plenty of exercise and in "better" quality air for sure with the filters. I just talked to our building administrator. This building does have air filters, which means my gym (located in the same building) has those filters as well.

But again, I'm asthmatic and suffer from breathing difficulties on good days, let alone when something like this happens. So, I can really feel it in my lungs and I don't need a smell or visible presence (i.e. see it with the naked eye) of smoke/particles to tell me that right now the air is worse than I have ever known it to be in the 17 years I've lived here.

I am starting to think that this is a clue from a higher being that we should be taking a week or two off our bikes for "base miles"

No.... http://www.freesmileys.org/emo/basic/dunce.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org)
Neither do I. I was just wondering. :D

Well, here is where you lost me. I get a better workout indoors sometimes, especially when running. I'm not used to it, so 45 minutes running on the treadmill kicks my butt. Then if I add another 45 mins to an hour weight work on top of that, I'm getting plenty of exercise and in "better" quality air for sure with the filters. I just talked to our building administrator. This building does have air filters, which means my gym (located in the same building) has those filters as well.

But again, I'm asthmatic and suffer from breathing difficulties on good days, let alone when something like this happens. So, I can really feel it in my lungs and I don't need a smell or visible presence (i.e. see it with the naked eye) of smoke/particles to tell me that right now the air is worse than I have ever known it to be in the 17 years I've lived here.
I should have prefaced my comments with the fact that I let my gym membership lapse a while back. I just get too bored working out inside, regardless of how good of a workout I get. (That includes a preference to ride in 95 and humid or 38 and raining, versus exercising indoors.) So, for me, it's either get a workout outside or not at all.

Glad to hear you're noticing a difference in air quality working out in the gym. I suppose I could dig out my stationary trainer and ride in the house, but I can't believe that my A/C would do as good of a filtering job as the one in the gym. (Plus I would have other distractions getting in the way of a stationary trainer ride at home.)

I agree, in the 16 years I've been here, this has been the worst air quality I've seen.

OH, gotcha, Brian. Well, I admit that sometimes indoors is very boring. But that is where I do wear an iPod and listen to tunes. I can rock out while running on the treadmill and the 30-45 minutes flies by. I love lifting weights, especially legs (which I plan to do tonight if I can muster up the energy, I feel so lousy). But I much prefer to ride over any other activity out there. Even if I goof off while riding, I still get a workout in and it's fun.

In the SD area, you can use this page (http://www.sdapcd.org/air/forecasts/otoday.html) as a guide.

Here is a link to the current AQMD readings (http://www.aqmd.gov/telemweb/Forecast.aspx) for the L.A. basin and surrounding areas, with a forcast for Friday. Maybe someone can translate some of the tech jargon, like what effect the "Max mixing" altitude has, or what AQI is.

I can't stand it. I'm getting on the bike. I lived through LA air in the sixties...

Tacos here I come!! :p

Leaving work in Sun Valley and driving home through Pasadena, it looks like an overcast day. No ride for me this afternoon. I hope things clear up before the weekend.

my new bike has been staring at me ALL week!!!! "RIDE ME...RIDE ME" is all I hear

I have a roller that you can borrow for the next few days. :D

nah I need a gas mask:D

http://www.knbc.com/health/14425162/detail.html?dl=headlineclick

Steam is white... perhaps it's that we're putting water on the fires and they're not.

There's also no fire icon there... perhaps it's just dust.

sorry, but this has got to be one of the dumbest things i have read in a few days. are you serious? you think that is steam billowing from the fires?

and, yes, that is dust.

the white is smoke, the brown off mexico is dust storms....

the white is smoke, the brown off mexico is dust storms....

OK, I thought it might be who knows what....

Their buds are blowing away....:)

Forecast calls for rain out here today. That should wet the ash down and allow some breathing room.