Western US cyclist: are you riding in the smoke?
#126
Junior Member
Been off a bike for about one month now. California is currently on the second round of fires going about. Thanks to the wind, the air cleared up 1000% for a bike ride.
#127
Senior Member
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There are a lot of good condition parked 747s. It looks to me like the western states should form a corporation and buy up a fleet of them, and convert them to water bombers. We see on the news of one single helicopter or water bomber dropping a small amount of water. How ever the short range pay load of a 747 is 250,000 pounds. When a fire threatens a town, fly a whole fleet ,15-20 over the fire and put it out. Repeat if necessary. Five MILLION pounds of water on a fire on the out skirts of town would surely help douse the fire, to where fire fighters could then kill it off.
P.S. 5 million pounds is not very much water. You might want to convert it to acre-feet to put it in perspective.
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#128
velo-dilettante
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#129
Senior Member
We went from a AQI in the 400s to 86 today after a rain storm. The evacuation orders were also lifted Wednesday. We are lucky, things are looking better. Even if it is raining today we might go for a ride
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#130
Senior Member
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First non spare the air day here in over a month. I've really cut back on the riding (~50%) during the record breaking streak of bad air so really looking forward to a good ride this weekend.
#131
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In Colorado we've had a range of conditions from pretty good days to too bad to go out. I check the air quality data daily and have not gone out a few times this summer because of it but only a few.
#133
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Napa Valley, CA
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Nice clean air in Napa county, northern CA today. The smoky air we had really makes me appreciate this "clean air". Did a 25 mile ride today and it was great !
#134
Occam's Rotor
There are a lot of good condition parked 747s. It looks to me like the western states should form a corporation and buy up a fleet of them, and convert them to water bombers. We see on the news of one single helicopter or water bomber dropping a small amount of water. How ever the short range pay load of a 747 is 250,000 pounds. When a fire threatens a town, fly a whole fleet ,15-20 over the fire and put it out. Repeat if necessary. Five MILLION pounds of water on a fire on the out skirts of town would surely help douse the fire, to where fire fighters could then kill it off.
#135
Newbie
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: Colorado
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Did only 10 miles today in CO. The smoke was bad and my chest hurt the rest of the day from sucking that bad air. Weather person says wind is going to shift and it will blow the smoke out to some extent. That would be great as today was new bike day and I am ready to ride.
#136
Live Healthy
Rode 40 miles today in SoCal on the riverbed Huntington Beach/Long Beach/Seal Beach area and the weather was not bad until a fire broke out near the bike path on the riverbed on my way home at El Dorado park in Long Beach. The fire was literally next the bike path and I can feel the heat when I rode passed it. I’m sure they got it under control bc the fire trucks were a block away when I passed it but there’s lots of trees and brushes in the area.
#137
Senior Member
I live in Mass. and the skies all week have been hazy from the smoke from the west that the jet stream carried here. This afternoon saw the first blue skies of the week. Stay safe.
#138
Klaatu..Verata..Necktie?
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I couldn't stop work early enough yesterday to get in a post-work ride, so I gambled that the air wouldn't crap up overnight, and I lucked out. Nice and clear this morning, so I was able to get in about an hour and a half ride. It was beautifully clear!
While it was so smoky, I tried out Zwift - signed up for a free trial! Then the smoke cleared, and I'm not gonna ride in the garage if I can ride on the road! So now I have ONE DAY of the free trial left!
While it was so smoky, I tried out Zwift - signed up for a free trial! Then the smoke cleared, and I'm not gonna ride in the garage if I can ride on the road! So now I have ONE DAY of the free trial left!
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"Don't take life so serious-it ain't nohow permanent."
"Everybody's gotta be somewhere." - Eccles
"Don't take life so serious-it ain't nohow permanent."
"Everybody's gotta be somewhere." - Eccles
#139
Senior Member
The air here in Victoria BC has finally cleared up and my ride to work was very enjoyable, nice to be able to freely breath again while riding.
#140
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Hope I'm not damaging my lungs by riding nearly everyday. I'm in Henderson, so looks like the PM2.5 AQI is around 87, 110 or thereabouts.
[ PM2.5 refers to atmospheric particulate matter (PM) that have a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, which is about 3% the diameter of a human hair. ]
[ PM2.5 refers to atmospheric particulate matter (PM) that have a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, which is about 3% the diameter of a human hair. ]
#143
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I went out today for my first ride in 13 days due to all of the smoke from the forest fires. I only went 24 miles but it felt good just to get out and ride.
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#144
Member
A week ago the local air quality number was about 9 million; today it's 36, hallelujah, so assuming I get all the stuff done this morning I need to, I'll be out pedaling, too. Everybody stay safe.
#147
Klaatu..Verata..Necktie?
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Here on the SF Peninsula, we've gotten as low as single digits, even 0 in the last week. Creeping up again a little and the haze is definitely there, but still under 100 mostly. I've been riding as long as it's under 100, but I adjust my ride and the intensity to how high it is.
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"Don't take life so serious-it ain't nohow permanent."
"Everybody's gotta be somewhere." - Eccles
"Don't take life so serious-it ain't nohow permanent."
"Everybody's gotta be somewhere." - Eccles
#148
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The best part of the good AQI this weekend was being able to sleep with the windows open.
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#149
Senior Member
The air in the upper Rogue River Valley has been improving nicely over the past couple days. Took a short ride (10 miles or so) yesterday and felt pretty good afterward. This morning the AQI is in the 20's, but the forecast calls for rain. Sometimes you can't buy a break.