TrojanHorse

maybe it's localized to the SGV but ... do you guys have any rules of thumb for when you stay home? Both kids' soccer practice got canceled tonight, and I usually ride while my son is getting his Euro on, but not tonight.

And if so, where do you go to determine if it's too unhealthy to ride? Website? Stick your nose out the window?

mkadam68

AQMD GIS Maps

I would think air quality is great (and looks good on the website). The winds yesterday & today blew anything bad away. Strange.

TrojanHorse

Well, it definitely smells smokey outside my house... Huh.

Cool link, thanks. I parked it right next to my earthquake link.

eja_ bottecchia

Air quality by the coast is horrible during a Santa Ana event. All of the dust and junk from the SGV blows our way.

We will get you back for this infamy.

Beachgrad05

There was a fire today in Rancho Cucamonga area today hence some of smoke smell I figure.

Nikon Rep

in Torrance my eyes are red and itchy and watering but the air doesn't seem too bad. growing up in LA in the 70's and 80's makes todays air quality seem like nothing.

PhotoJoe 

If I can smell smoke, I don't ride. I learned that is a guaranteed sinus infection.

mwandaw

I use the AQMD website at the link provided by mkadam68 AND I stick my nose out the window.

<> Does it smell like smoke or anything else bad? Do something else.

<> During a Santa Ana wind event, does the sky look brown? If so, the air is probably very dusty. Dust may not trigger an AQMD air quality alert, but in my experience sustained heavy breathing of dusty air will give me a cough and/or allergies for the next couple of days. Instead, I'll do something else.

<> The AQMD defines "moderate" air quality as being between 51-100 on their index. They say there "...may be a moderate health concern for [a] very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution." Since I breath heavily for sustained periods while riding, I figure I am overexposed, so I do something else if the index is above 75.

My 2¢ but for you no charge!

TrojanHorse

Ha!

It's a fun sport, give it a whirl.

Thanks. .

I lived in San Diego back in the early 80s, and I distinctly recall visiting Disneyland and by the end of the day I had headaches, burning eyes and a sore throat. Fun times. The Air Quality seems to be much better these days.

mwandaw

I remember playing in an hour-long water polo match on a smoggy day in Van Nuys in the late 60s. I got bronchitis and coughed up crap for a week afterward. Early in grade school, in the late 50s, I lived in Pacoima, and I remember days when the sky was gray. My eyes burned, and it hurt when I took a breath.

Experiences like that make me appreciate how much the air quality has improved. However, the LA/Long Beach area still has some of the worst air in the country.

I think we've gone from really bad air to not very good air. That's definitely an improvement, but it still leaves a lot to be desired. Be careful out there!

CommuteCommando

Grew up in the high desert in the '60's and the drive down Cajon Pass into San Bernardino was like descending into a bowl of brown soup. Defiantly better than it was.

bikeme

Watch the PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels on AQMD--that stuff goes in your lungs and doesn't come out.

f4rrest

Nah, Autopia is still as stinky as ever.

TrojanHorse

I'm not sure I know how to read this then:

[TABLE="width: 0"]
[TR]
[TD]Area Number
[/TD]
[TD]11
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Area Name
[/TD]
[TD]South San Gabriel Valley[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]AQI Category
[/TD]
[TD]Moderate[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]AQI Value
[/TD]
[TD]66[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Pollutant
[/TD]
[TD]Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) - 24 Hr Average[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Reading Date Time
[/TD]
[TD]5/1/2014 8:00:00 PM[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

PM 10?

I only started paying attention to this site yesterday, so it'll probably become more clear over time.

Very true... they need little priuses in there.

bikeme

Sorry haven't checked in here. I look at the map and if it's yellow, I'll think about whether to go to or not (or maybe go and ride easy). Red is no way for me.

krobinson103

In Korea we get fine dust from China all the time. Unless I walk outside and start gasping I ignore it.

TrojanHorse

Korea... you win.

Actually, Beijing would probably win, the air over there is pretty gross. (as of 1999). Went outside to watch a sunset and the sun just flat out disappeared 30 degrees above the horizon. Blech.