Just wondering what others thoughts are on riding with the current (Tues, June 6, 2023) air quality? I have just been out in the driveway and I noticed that the air is noticeably hazy, or maybe even smokey. It smells like my neighbours are having a bonfire. I usually ignore most summer air quality alerts, but this seems different.
Jon
I have just been talking about this with a few people. It has got noticeably worse in the last hour to so (really smokey on the west side of waterloo). Looking at that link it is supposed to be getting worse too!
Does the club have a policy on air quality alerts?
For what it’s worth, we rode last night at the Hydrocut without any noticeable trouble, although we spent most of the time sessioning features, so we weren’t really stressing out respiration.
Environment Canada says: " Wildfire smoke can be harmful to everyone’s health even at low concentrations. Continue to take actions to protect your health and reduce exposure to smoke. People with lung disease (such as asthma) or heart disease, older adults, children, pregnant people, and people who work outdoors are at higher risk of experiencing health effects caused by wildfire smoke. Stop outdoor activities and contact your health care provider if you or someone in your care experiences shortness of breath, wheezing (including asthma attacks), severe cough, dizziness or chest pains. Stay inside if you are feeling unwell and experiencing symptoms."
The guideline for cancelling club rides is that if Environment Canada issues a Warning, the ride must be cancelled. It is to the ride leaders’ discretion on whether to cancel for watches/advisories/special weather statements. This would seem to fall in the latter category.
One possibility is to advise riders of EC’s advice before the ride. Keep in mind that it is peak allergy season right now which could really exacerbate the situation for some riders.
Thanks @jeremyhaak I guess we keep an eye on it. FYI, it looks like this is a today thing, yesterday it seems like the numbers were fine:
I think that peak just before present on that graph was last night right around 7-8pm.
I think I can see the smoke blob on Tommy’s link that is causing today’s air quality. It you watch the progression, it looks like Toronto is going to get some really nasty stuff tomorrow morning and again Thursday morning. KW seems to bypass the worst of the smoke however.
Yes the air quality tracker you linked to before has scaled back the predicted high levels. Apparently just average now 
