By now many of you will have read about my near-suffocation under dust storms and bushfire smoke this week. With most forecasters not expecting this drought to end until at least March (some even saying December 2003), it looks like it's going to get worse. Basically I'll have to learn to deal with this or stop riding for an extended period. Yuo can probably guess which option I prefer.

Does anyone have any recommendations on a decent mask that might keep some of the s*** out of my nostrils, preferably one that won't cause me to cook in the Queensland sun?

Chris,

Talk to an industrial safety supply house in your area. Tell them that you need a disposable respirator with good breathing characteristics. When I get to work tomorrow, I'll check for some brands. In the meantime, I ran a search and found a couple of sites for you to check out:

aseia

Check "Respiratory Protection" and look for a "disposable respirator" in the category area. This is a Queensland, Australia web site, so you may find something local.

What you want is a disposable respirator with two straps, a good face seal, a large filter area, and High Effeciency Particulate Filtration (HEPA). If it is stacked on an absorbant like activated charcoal, so much the better, as it will absorb some of the carbon monoxide.

I cannot tell from your photo , but if you have a beard it will not matter much what you wear, as you won't get a good seal.

Good luck, as smoke is not fun to ride or work in.

John

Chris,

Go to https://www.respro.com

Respro makes anti-pollution masks specifically for cycling and has a distributor in Australia. I use the Sportsta mask in the pollen season. Without it the hay fever would keep me off the road.

If dust is the only problem, the bandana-style Bandit mask should be enough.

Thanks guys. I'll be in Brisbane tomorrow so hopefully I'll be able to get something.

Chris,

Today I went to a safety supply store to get personal protective equipment for my company. While there, they recommended a 3M disposable respirator which has a lining of charcoal in it too. This respirator should do pretty well, but should not be used more than one day. Here's another web site to look at, with some free software too:

3M Occupational Safety and Health

I went into the 3M website, and I believe the 8576 Particulate Respirator is the one I saw today, which would be a pretty good one.

Do not use the 3M 8500 particulate respirator, as it is not an approved one for hazardous dusts, and really does not do much for you. It is sold because it sells, and has only one strap. It will not do the job.

I hope this helps, and I also hope your fires go out soon.

John

I believe this is what your looking for

Maybe a "Hannibal Lechter" mask is what you need?

Against incredible odds, we actually got some rain yesterday. Not enough to break the drought (we'd need a major flood for that), but enough for me to be able to say:

DIE, BUSHFIRE SCUM!