air quality: how is riding in the Bay Area today?

[dachshund]

We actually have a breeze out here tonight! And it's cool enough to have the windows open! I hope this is good news.. for everybody.

[Veronica]

It's still 93 degrees at my house.

Did you know that Mount Diablo State Park is closed because of fire danger?

V.

[maillotpois]

Downright chilly here.

But there's a smoke advisory in the Sierras, and apparently it is pretty bad in Nevada as well.

[crazycanuck]

You have some help from some lovely experienced Victorian firefighters coming your way!


Keep safe!

[jobob]

Victoria ... Australia?!?

Wow, that's a long trip to go fight a fire! Is there more to the story?

[Trek420]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...efer=australia

[crazycanuck]

I remember last year some US firefighters came down to help with the bushfires round Aust..

Most of the folks are trained in fighting fires in the high bushland/mountainous areas in Vic..

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...10/2300512.htm

[xeney]

Ugh. This has been an awful week. It was apparently much cooler than predicted in Sacramento yesterday (it was supposed to be 109 but never got to 100) but the smoke and humidity were so bad that you couldn't tell. We normally open our windows at night and in the morning, but we haven't done that in a week.

We are all sick with colds, and the baby is coughing a lot. I can't tell if it is the smoke or just the cold. Either way, we are keeping her inside and she is bored out of her mind. No bike rides around here ... the air hurts your eyes as soon as you step outside.

[michelem]

Yeah, it was only 102.4 here yesterday and today it looks like we're about 5-10 degrees cooler than this time yesterday, so at least it looks like we're getting some sort of relief. Still very hazy though. I started getting lightheaded and dizzy during my ballet class last night. UGH.

[RolliePollie]

Less smoky here in the foothills above Placerville tonight...and much cooler. I have all the windows wide open and my whole house fan is doing a great job pulling in the cool air. This morning the smoke was horrendous but it cleared pretty well during the day. The smoke smell actually woke me up in the night...and lately I haven't even been able to smell it since I think my nostrils are just used to it now. Luckily, for some strange reason the smoke doesn't seem to be bothering me too much (knock on wood) so I'm pretty determined to do a 40-ish mile ride tomorrow morning. I'm just praying the smoke doesn't pour back in tonight like it did last night.

[Bike Goddess]

Rollie Pollie- two of my very dearest friends live in Pollock Pines. I come up occasionally to visit and would LOVE to ride around the area. Where do you go when you are out for a 40ish mile ride?

We've got plenty of fog down here in the Bay Area, and I understand that the Butte County fire is finally winding down. However, I also just read that lightning is forecast again for that area this weekend.

Hopefully the Death Ride folks are okay. They start out pretty early (4:30-5:00AM) so at least some should be able to beat the heat.

[RolliePollie]

Rollie Pollie- two of my very dearest friends live in Pollock Pines. I come up occasionally to visit and would LOVE to ride around the area. Where do you go when you are out for a 40ish mile ride?

Oooh, I think you need to come visit your friends and go for a ride!

There are lots of great route options around this area, but my typical longer ride is to go all the way from Pollock down to Placerville and back. I stay on the back roads through Apple Hill as much as possible, which makes for a prettier ride with less traffic...and also adds quite a few miles and hills. Let me know if you're ever up here and maybe we can ride together! Or at least I can provide you more details, maps, water refilling spots, etc.

Here's a website with some good route info and maps:

http://www.beautifulvista.com/bike_rides_index.htm


Less smoke up here today...and much cooler too. I have a feeling the Death Riders may have lucked out. It's getting worse as the day progresses, but when I left for my ride about 7:30 this morning, it was better than it's been over the last few days. Visibility was hazy but you could actually see quite a ways.

[maillotpois]

we completely lucked out for death ride. friday we came down carson pass and you could see nothing - it was awful. saturday morning at the start, there were sstars - it stayed clear all day! (the hail, rain and lightning were somewhat disconcerting, but better than riding in smoke.)

and today it is hazy/smoky again. we lucked out.

[maillotpois]

driving through Redding now. It is AWFUL - worse than last week. hope it's better in the bay area.

[michelem]

It's baaack . . . UGH! Very smoky today.