carl7

In the NorCal areas affected, visible ash is falling. Do you still ride?

poonkorama

I've been riding to work but taking it pretty easy to avoid huffing and puffing too much. Skipping any early morning training rides until the air clears up a bit. I'm not in the areas directly affected, but the residual smoke in SF/Oakland has been pretty substantial this week. Sad situation all around.

VRC

Not for the last two days (mon and tues) but I saw quite a few people out biking just now.

spdntrxi

trainer today... I don't need my exercised induced asthma to kick in

UmneyDurak

I have done it in the past when there was similar condition in Irvine few years back. In retrospect I wouldn't recommend it.

carl7

Yeah, unfortunately, they say the air quality is going to get even worse. I'm going to try riding wearing a N95 particulate mask today, perhaps if I keep the effort low, will be able to take in enough air.

RushFan2112

I was going to do a group ride today but we (wisely) cancelled it. I don't want to be coughing for the next week. Smoke is really bad in the East Bay.

tengtengvn

That sucks. Luckily for us in the South Bay, we're not affected.

tengtengvn

I take it back. Just went outside for a walk and I see the smoke in the air.

spdntrxi

yes winds switched..it's horrible in the south bay right now

VRC

Much worse than 24 hours ago.

Pavol Stromcek

Smokey air has been getting increasingly worse in my neck of Oakland. Definitely hesitant to do any serious riding right now. But it does seem to vary from one part of town to the next, and I don't know how much that has to do with the wind vs. the smoke kind of lingering more in certain areas more than others.

caloso

Gym work out yesterday. Off the bike entirely today, but that was already planned due to errands and appointments away from work.

carl7

Yesterday I test rode with a N95 mask and it was doable, not for high level rides but moderate. So, will try a longer ride today. Even a hardcore road rider I know who goes out no matter what is not riding.

absoludicrous

Disappointing to hear how bad it is. I'm in town Fri-Sun (coming from Minnesota and staying in Berkeley) and had a ride planned that involved climbing Diablo. Not looking too optimistic at this point, but hoping for some strong westerly winds.

If Diablo is out—the park is currently closed—are there any other decent options for riding out of Berkeley? Looking to get in 50+ miles with a decent bit of climbing. Checked Mount Tam, but the air quality there is no better.

DiabloScott

My STRAVA friend activity is zero since Sunday.
I rode my bike to work on Monday when the air was still pretty good.

ztmlgr

I rode every day this week in the East Bay hills and just took it very easy so as not to suck in too much of the bad stuff. It's a bad air day if you can't see San Francisco from Skyline in Oakland. It's a really bad air day when you can't see Oakland from Skyline. Yesterday (Wednesday) was the worst when I couldn't see as far as the Oakland flatlands from Skyline. Today, I could just about see the bay from Skyline, so I guess things are improving. Just depends on which way the wind blows. Tried riding with a dust mask but it didn't really help. My mask was just a P95 and I guess you need a N95 for this kind of bad air. Plus, the mask just fogged up my glasses and made it hard to get in enough air so I took it off.

Joe Bikerider

Rode today but just to the library in Pleasant Hill and over to Walnut Creek. This was all before noon. Air and weather was pretty good. However now 6:22pm, the air in Walnut Creek is horrible. Just managed to walk out to the mailbox and back. Lungs are feeling it. Wondering about tomorrow morning. Our neighborhood (Walnut Blvd) has a meeting with city traffic engineer and I really want to ride to city hall. We're trying to reduce/slow traffic on our street. I think arriving on bike gives me some street cred. Or does it make me look like just another wacko? We shall see. Pray for west wind tonight.

spdntrxi

1:20 on the trainer today.. outside it not worth it.

carl7

I tested the N95 on a longer ride today and it was better than I thought. I have a plain N95 and the one with a exhaust valve which has a lot less air restriction. Was able to ride fairly hard with no problems. It's vital you get a good fit before the ride, the area around the nose bridge has to seal well, that'll cure the glasses fogging. They have another type like surgeons wear, that may work better.

Scarbo

Nope. The air is filthy all over northern California.

DiabloScott

Rode to work this morning. Eerie to ride past the empty school yards. Hope it's not too smokey for the return home.

caloso

My son reported that yesterday they were cleared to have PE outside again. The wind has shifted away from Sacramento so it's been relatively clear here.

On a related note, I've had a great view of the tankers flying in and out of McClellan. The Global Supertanker is an awesome sight.

Joe Bikerider

I did ride to the meeting with the city regarding traffic on my street. Pretty positive now we will see if anything actually happens. One unexpected side effect of these fires is increased power of fire departments. This is pertinent because they always oppose speed bumps so that's not an option. Air quality right now (noon) in Walnut Creek is deteriorating as wind increases from the north. Will stay inside this afternoon.

DiabloScott

We had a speed bump war in our neighborhood and the fire department said they don't care - don't make them part of the decision yay or nay. The nay neighbors were claiming it would be a problem for the FD and other emergency vehicles but it wasn't.