People on scooters wear it, pedestrians wear it, but very few cyclists do. I’ve tried wearing a mask while biking, and it was uncomfortable and hot. But with the problem of PM2.5s, it seems to make sense to put one on dispite the discomfort. The article below made me think twice about riding hard in the city during traffic hour. If people in London are concerned about this problem, I shudder to think what the air pollutant levels are like in Taiwan’s cities and what they’re doing to our health. Do you ever wear a mask while you ride?
I commuted across London for 5 years and never wore a mask, and I would only see maybe one or two others per week wearing one. You need specific filters with masks that are properly fitted to your face for them to work effectively.
By far the best option is just to alter your route to avoid the busy roads and bus routes, and if you can change what time you commute to work.
That’s basically what I used to do and it was fine. Here in Taiwan the air quality much poorer overall but avoiding the traffic emissions will make a big difference.
Also stay as far away as you can from and Volkswagens.
As a cyclist, I agree with everything you said.
Volkswagen, lol
You can also alter your breathing. I’ve developed a breathing technique for riding in heavy traffic. If I’m right behind a bus, I try to either hold my breath or exhale slowly. When I run out of breath and if I’m still behind the bus, I switch to small, quick breaths and try to stay as far away from the bus as I can. Once I overtake the bus, I suck in a lung full of clean air.
Solution:
Get a head buff, wear around neck instead of sunscreen. When bad air arrives, move it over mouth and nose and you’ll have a filter of sorts. Works better when wet.
Done this for many years in various countries.
It’s something I thought and dropped the idea for the obvious reason: suffucation. However, there are masks made specifically for riding bicycle, but they are “expensive” and have filters that you have to change after some use. May be I should try them… my commute to work is smokey…
I also hold the breath, but mostly when riding motorcycle. Currently I can hold my breath quite a lot (well, not as more pro apnea divers), partially because I can ride very relaxed (or with low heart beats, I believe).
If you do wear a mask make sure it’s at least an n95 one. The cotton variety that 90% people here wear have been proven to be next to useless and let through something like 70-80% of pm2.5. Cheap surgical masks are slighly better but don’t seal to the face well. Even the n95 masks lose about 50% efficiency after a week of use or so, so it’s necessary to change them often. You can buy a box of 50 3M Vflex masks for about $1150. They seal well, are comfortable, and are fairly good for scooter riding, but ideally you want a mask with an exhaust valve for cycling or the mask gets wet and sweaty fast, which makes it harder to breath. Either that or slow your pace.
More: aqicn.org/mask/
myhealthbeijing.com/children … nd-losers/