genejockey 

This is the key. You're not going to come back from ONE ride in smokey conditions with Black Lung (also because that's coal dust, not smoke), but over more and more rides, over months or years, the damage adds up.

I won't ride outside if it's over 150 (PM2.5, LRAPA adjustment) anywhere along the route I plan to ride. I don't have any underlying lung issues - no asthma, no CPD. AND I check Purple Air to gauge what's coming over the time I'll be riding.

Polaris OBark

Trolls trolling trolls.

3alarmer 

...it's turtles all the way down.

Lombard

I'll bike while in the yellow, but not once it goes into orange. That's like smoking a perpetual cigarette.

KerryIrons

No, it wasn't. Smoke is particulates, not gas, and so does not displace oxygen. Your lungs react to the particles and that is why it feels like there's not enough oxygen.

rosefarts

Whatever it was. By mid summer most years I can comfortably run at 14k. The smoke that day had me moving like I was above 20k.

Polaris OBark

More turtles.

Polaris OBark

I do agree particulates restrict oxygen intake. The lungs go into a protection mode wherein they try to absorb fewer particles, at the expense of restricting oxygen exchange. So, indirectly, the smoke is having the effect you describe.

wolfchild

It's impossible to avoid pollution in our modern world, unless you lock yourself into some safety bubble and never go anywhere and do anything... What about all the daily bike commuters who ride in large cities and are exposed daily to smog and exhaust fumes and all manner of pollutants ?. I don't hear about thousands of bike commuters dropping dead from pollution, what gives ?

Polaris OBark

Incorrect as usual. Irrelevant facts.

mdarnton

NOT medical advice: I'm 75 with some respiratory problems, in Chicago. I rode last week at 275 and 185, and had no problem at all--zero reaction. BUT the warning was for particulates, not ozone (ozone was about as low as usual, and I watch that one carefully, all the time, but if I followed it too carefully I'd never be able to ride), and I wore a well-fit KN95 mask, which should be more than enough for that. On the other hand, the 185 day I also walked two blocks to the store and back, no mask, and was coughing by the time I got home. I also ride with the mask in the winter since it keeps me breathing warm air and cold air can affect my lungs. It's better than a scarf and a lot tidier.

If the problem had been ozone I would not have ridden.

rosefarts

I have such fond memories of hanging out at the huts below the glacier in the Cordillera Blanca, chilling at 14k, drinking a beer and eating fried chicken. Looking up at mountains bigger than anything I’d ever seen.

I definitely moved more like a turtle than a hare up there but felt unstoppable in Colorado once I returned.

Ill go back. Too many people who are better than me have died in those mountains, and my family is my focus now, not tall places. I’ll just stick to places I can get with only hiking boots.

3alarmer 

...this is the true part, where you always begin.


...this is where you begin to morph into irrational argument. Of course there are daily bike commuters, who are exposed to varying levels of air quality over the course of a year.
I was one of them, and the place I live in has some significant air quality issues at times. So I've ridden in dirty air in the past. It was out of necessity, not choice.

I also worked here for the fire department, so I understand that in the course of my employment, I was exposed to significant levels of toxic smoke. Again, this was not by choice, but out of necessity. If I could have told the people dialing 911 that we soule be there, as soon as the smoke cleared a little bit, I would happily have done so. Instead, I took measures to protect my lungs as best I could, given the circumstances. Some worked better than others, but there's little question most fire fighters, even the ones who start out in excellent physical condition, eventually suffer some loss of lung function and some possible associated cardiovascular decline that can't be accounted for by simple aging.

Once more, I'm all for your free choice to do whatever the hell you want with your two lungs. I did.



...and, inevitably, here is where we get to the best part in this style of argument. No, you don't hear much about the cumulative damage done, because, indeed, it does not drop people dead in their tracks. Congratulations on yet again, missing the point. Pax vobiscum, sir. I don't need to discuss this with you to know you're mistaken, and it won't benefit either of us, because you are certain in your beliefs.

Other things that do not drop people instantly dead in their tracks, but are still bad for you: excessive radiation exposure, exposure to carcinogens (which vary in toxicity), long term, routine exposure to many pesticides, chronic repetitive stress injuries, various parasitic infections, dietary habits that encourage a variety of systemic illnesses, and arguing with poorly informed individuals on the internet.

3alarmer 

.
...now I feel like I need a cigarette, after that rant.

Polaris OBark

wolfchild

How do you know that air pollution is the main factor that contributed to their death ?. What about their overall lifestyle and diet ?. Do they smoke, are they sedentary, how's their diet ?... I suspect that the ones who die from air pollution already have existing health issues with their heart and lungs and other health problems.

Polaris OBark

It is a report on peer-reviewed research, which I take more seriously then your off-the-cuff wishful thinking.

MoAlpha

At our age…

3alarmer 

...except for the things that contribute to chronic health conditions.

Calsun

Gotta love it when people give their opinions plucked from the air and state it as fact baed. I remember being on a dive boat offshore from Curcao where the teenage boat crew were all smoking and told me that this allowed them to get more dive time per air tank. At their age their ignorance was understandable and excusable. I cannot say the same for adults in the USA.

genejockey 

At our age, we have fewer remaining years in which to accumulate damage. If we were 30 and started riding in smoke, by the time we got to our current age, we'd be worse off than we are now.

Or something...

Trakhak

Drink enough beer and it makes sense, apparently.

phughes

alcjphil

As a Canadian myself I am not happy with the spate of wildfires that are happening here now. Something to be understood: Canada is a larger country than the USA with about 10% of the population. When forest fires occur we have about 10% of the resources that our neighbours to the south have with a bigger area to cover

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/01/us/ca...ity/index.html
We do our best to fight these fires, but some are in such remote areas that nothing can be done

JohnDThompson 

I didn't ride for several days last week when the AQI here was 150s-190s, but now it's below 50, so off I go.