Cycling Masks

[Davidc]

True, I shouldn't have said colds, let's focus on respiratory problems... Pollution is definitely a factor there!

http://www.london.gov.uk/priorities...g-londons-air/air-pollution-and-public-health

The Westminster document is especially pertinent to me, interesting they say that car drivers are exposed to more pollution than cyclists and peds because they use busier routes. Whilst I try to cycle quiet routes, there are areas in Westminster where that's pretty much impossible.

I'm gonna try a few tactics like making more use of the Advanced Cycle Stoppy boxes and keeping more of a distance between myself and the vehicle in front in slow traffic... Then maybe a mask...

Research a few years ago suggested that car ventilation systems concentrate the most dangerous (smallest) particulates. Then - I wouldn't commute by car in a big city, I'd be jumping out tearing my hair out after the first couple of traffic jams.

 

[Recycle]

True, I shouldn't have said colds, let's focus on respiratory problems... Pollution is definitely a factor there!

That's true but unfortunately a mask won't help.
The report you linked mentions 2 risks. PM10 particulate matter and NO2. Masks are ineffective against both. NO2 because its a gas and can get through the filter in the same way that air can. PM10 particles are so small that the filter is equally ineffective against them.

Suppression (rain) is the only effective way of controlling PM10 particles in the air.

 

[HLaB]

I cant compare where Ive lived with London (Dublin being my biggest place) but I think I got the most coughs and colds etc living in the smallest place (least pollution) probably because I was in more contact with other folk or maybe its true what they say guiness is good for you .

 

[classic33]

As above. Colds, flue, etc. are caused by biological agents not pollution.

I used to commute to work (and if appropriate will again) and wouldn't restrict my breathing with a mask. At several times that was in London, before the days of clean engines, exhaust filters, catalytic converters etc.

I'd be interested to know if there's any evidence (NOT anecdote) for any harm ever being done to a healthy cyclist by city air pollution.

http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/exhaust-ing-ride-for-cyclists

 

[snailracer]

Sit upright so your face is higher up - the concentration of dust falls with height above ground.

 

[classic33]

Sit upright so your face is higher up - the concentration of dust falls with height above ground.

But warm air rises, as do warm particles. No guarantee either way.
For those looking at using a mask check how long it can be used for, before it becomes saturated & then actually increasing the amount of what you're trying to keep out, getting into your system.
Even the best will only offer around 30 minutes protection, and thats at around £25 a time.

 

[musa]

Don't bother just wasting your time. I find it difficult breathing with my buff on.

Ive been a cycle courier and never had issues with the outside air

 

[Jezston]

I blame my recent sinus infection on not cycling and having to take public transport.

Only once had a proper ill since I started cycling to work 3 years ago.

Probably help if I stopped smoking, too

 

[Boris Bajic]

When the mass-market arrival of MTBs brought on a surge in the popularity of urban cycling (London), one saw a lot of masks and cowboy-style kerchiefs.

I used to have my sanity questioned for not wearing a mask... by people who had just bought their first bike and wouldn't be riding a year later.

I think this fad lasted a year or two with most.

Anything restricting the airflow just seems unhelpful to me.

Carry on...

 

[Davidsw8]

That's true but unfortunately a mask won't help.
The report you linked mentions 2 risks. PM10 particulate matter and NO2. Masks are ineffective against both. NO2 because its a gas and can get through the filter in the same way that air can. PM10 particles are so small that the filter is equally ineffective against them.

Suppression (rain) is the only effective way of controlling PM10 particles in the air.

This is a minefield isn't it

I was just struck by how dark the filter was in the first link I posted. I guess if the filters can't protect against the most dangerous pollutants, at least they can stop that amount of whatever that black stuff is, going in to your lungs.

This morning, I wore a woollen scarf-type thing round my throat to keep it warm, kept my distance from vehicles in front (especially in slow moving traffic) and tried to breathe in more through my nose and out through my mouth.

Maybe a mask isn't a good idea and I just mitigate when I can.

I was partially looking where each vehicles' exhaust was when I was stopped in traffic and it really does make you realise the unholy crud that's pumped out of every single vehicle!

 

[Recycle]

I was just struck by how dark the filter was in the first link I posted. I guess if the filters can't protect against the most dangerous pollutants, at least they can stop that amount of whatever that black stuff is, going in to your lungs.

Fortunately the stuff we can see (and that stuff shown in the filter) isn't so much of a problem because they are either filtered before getting into the lungs, or can be expelled from the lungs because they can't penetrate too deep. There are 2 broad reasons why particles smaller than PM10 are a problem.

• Nature does not produce them in sufficient abundance for us to have evolved a way of filtering or expelling particles that small from our lungs.
• They are often toxic or carcinogenic. Asbesos & silica cause physical damage and cause scarring deep in the lungs. Diesel particulates are carcinogens and particles smaller than PM2.5 can enter the bloodstream.

Asbestos and silica risk is confined to specific areas like mines or old buildings, diesel particulates are a risk to everyone on the roads. Avoidance of heavily congested areas by route selection is probably the best strategy.

 

[snailracer]

But warm air rises, as do warm particles. No guarantee either way.
For those looking at using a mask check how long it can be used for, before it becomes saturated & then actually increasing the amount of what you're trying to keep out, getting into your system.
Even the best will only offer around 30 minutes protection, and thats at around £25 a time.

Warm air does rise, but it is observed that the concentration of dust is lower the further above ground you rise. Maybe it's because a lot of cold
dust sits on the ground and gets disturbed by wind and tyres?

 

[idlecyclist]

I wear one (Respro Techno) Before i started wearing it, i was getting headaches that would last a couple of hours after a ride (through central london) and the first coffee would taste like mud!
Since using the mask, no more headaches. Yes it does make it more difficult to breath, and it helps fog up my glasses. But I perceive it to be benificial.
I dont wear it when cycling at the weekend.

 

[pjm]

Well, I cycle to and from work, go to the gym every morning before work (and sometimes after too) and have a pretty good diet so I regard myself as well above average fitness wise. The only variable that's changed in the last year is the cycling so process of elimination would indicate the increase in coughs etc is that I'm sucking in too much bad air? Well, I hope it's that and nothing something really terrible!

Doesn't London consistently break EU regulations concerning air quality? That's bound to have an effect. If masks help with that or not is another matter.

Could it be that you are overtraining? if you are going to the gym once or twice a day already and you have started cycling twice a day too, maybe you are getting colds because you are run down. If I try to combine gym and cycling, I know I'm far more likely to pick up a cold.

 

[Davidsw8]

Could it be that you are overtraining? if you are going to the gym once or twice a day already and you have started cycling twice a day too, maybe you are getting colds because you are run down. If I try to combine gym and cycling, I know I'm far more likely to pick up a cold.

I only cycle 4 miles each way, so the cycling aspect isn't a massive strain. But you could be right...