I've recently started to cycle to work and am enjoying it and as I get better I'm purchasing a few bits of decent kit. I'm wondering if anyone uses a "respro" type filter mask and if so, how do you find it - is it restrictive and does it help you do you think. My route is mainly suburban but I do pass through an industrial estate (lots of dust and big trucks) and as I get to work I'm passing through a lot of traffic as i approach our county town. It doesn't seem so bad on cold, wet days, but I guess as the days get drier and the temperatures rise, dust and fumes will get worse. So - is it worth getting one?
I would say yes, the amount of fumes you must inhale on that kind of journey must be significant and anything you can do to stop that will only help you in the long term. They're cheap anyway.
I used to wear one cycling in London. It seemed to help. The filter was filthy when I changed it. Get a good one with one-way valves so you can exhale easily.
its worrying. Clarkson on Top Gear was saying that in certain cities namely Beijing the fumes coming from certain car exhausts are less toxic than the air.
You could probably add certain parts of California and New York to that too. I know people who have lived in the city centre, then when they moved out to the country after a couple of weeks they were coughing up all sorts of gunk for a while before they started to suddenly feel really healthy.
