# How are Los Angeles riders coping with fires?



## borre13 (May 31, 2007)

I usually ride up the San Gabriels on weekends, and ride around the city during the week, it has been a week already that I haven't been on the bike and already going through withdrawals...and let me tell you something, running on a treadmill sucks...all in all though, my most sincere condolences to everybody affected by the fire...


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

Throw your bike in the car and head for the coast.

Not saying it's delicious down here, but I'm sure it's an improvement.


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

I'm not riding.


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## borre13 (May 31, 2007)

*Drive somewhere to ride...*

I guess that is what we need to do...I did drive to HB on Sunday and saw a lot of people riding...Traffic is crazy down there though...but the air is cleaner...
I always dread Mt Biking because of the drive up to the mountain though, that is one of the reasons I've been road riding more, just start right off the front door...


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## cwg_at_opc (Oct 20, 2005)

i haven't ridden at all since last monday(8/24) - so yeah, i'm itchin' to go ridin'.

i have a 112 miler tentatively scheduled for this weekend, but i think i'm gonna pass on it.


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

borre13 said:


> I guess that is what we need to do...I did drive to HB on Sunday and saw a lot of people riding...Traffic is crazy down there though...but the air is cleaner...
> I always dread Mt Biking because of the drive up to the mountain though, that is one of the reasons I've been road riding more, just start right off the front door...


Not sure of the road conditions on PCH these days (they were bad a couple weeks ago), but you could drive down to Santa Monica, then ride up the coast. Or do what CWG does and drive to the park across from Pepperdine and ride up the coast from there.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

I haven't been riding but I'm doing a ride tomorrow. Up to the Griff Park observatory.


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

il sogno said:


> I haven't been riding but I'm doing a ride tomorrow. Up to the Griff Park observatory.


Wait, what?

Dude. You should go west, not east. Or drive the bike over to the coast. Especially if you're doing some climbing.

Srsly.


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## roadfix (Jun 20, 2006)

I've been making pizzas at home instead of riding.


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## Joe Dirte (Apr 5, 2009)

The trainer,in the A/C watching Dvr'd Vuelta. Thats about the extent of my riding for the last couple days. Im off tomorrow and might make a SGRT run but havent decided if its worth it.


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## El Caballito (Oct 31, 2004)

Rode Sunday from the Valley to Santa Monica, eyes were burning going up Old Topanga, but missed my ride today... gray, smokey sky, and a red sun. Had a headache this afternoon, I think the smoke is starting to take its toll on me.


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## grrlyrida (Aug 3, 2006)

Eating homemade brownies with freshly made caramel sauce and ice cream. Besides getting fat, I haven't ridden my bike in a week. I like to replace one addiction with another.


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## roadfix (Jun 20, 2006)

grrlyrida said:


> Eating homemade brownies with freshly made caramel sauce and ice cream. Besides getting fat, I haven't ridden my bike in a week. I like to replace one addiction with another.


Hey, I baked my first ever bread the other day on firebricks from some left-over pizza dough I made from scratch. I felt that same sense of accomplishment when I did my first century ride many years ago. Can this become a hobby too?


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## mikeyp123 (Mar 9, 2007)

Went out to Santa Monica last weekend for some PCH riding. No riding during the week. Might be going out to South Bay to do the Donut Ride Saturday. Sucks not being able to ride in the AM during the week.


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## JSR (Feb 27, 2006)

Anecdotal report for those considering going West:

I live in Thousand Oaks, where the air is OK. You might be able to feel the smoke going down, but it's not too bad. PCH and the Santa Monicas should be the same.

I drove to Ventura on Saturday, riding a loop through Casitas Pass to Santa Barbara. The air and temps were both excellent. I could see the Station Fire smoke cloud from Ventura, but it didn't affect the riding one bit.

JSR


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## grrlyrida (Aug 3, 2006)

roadfix said:


> Hey, I baked my first ever bread the other day on firebricks from some left-over pizza dough I made from scratch. I felt that same sense of accomplishment when I did my first century ride many years ago. Can this become a hobby too?


Congrats! What sort of firebrick set up do you have?


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## fast ferd (Jan 30, 2009)

I live in La Canada, so it means hauling my bike down the hill and riding the Rio Hondo trail starting in Arcadia. Start after 7 AM when the smoke lifts. By the time the smoke lifts in the foothills, it's almost 90 degrees out, so forget that notion.


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## roadfix (Jun 20, 2006)

grrlyrida said:


> Congrats! What sort of firebrick set up do you have?


Thanks Vanessa. Very simple setup. I have several split fire bricks layed on the bottom rack of my oven. I've been using this similar setup for pizzas in my charcoal and gas grills but using the kitchen oven is so much easier and more convenient. 

But If I really get into this pizza making thing I can see myself building a wood fired brick pompeii oven out in my back yard as I am in the middle of doing a complete back yard overhaul at the moment, including the complete demolition of our termite damaged main deck.
That's also one reason I haven't been riding much lately...


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

DrRoebuck said:


> Wait, what?
> 
> Dude. You should go west, not east. Or drive the bike over to the coast. Especially if you're doing some climbing.
> 
> Srsly.


OK I talked to grrlyrida this morning. We're skipping our ride this week. 

I checked out the AQMD map and the air is just as bad at the coast as it is inland.


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

il sogno said:


> I checked out the AQMD map and the air is just as bad at the coast as it is inland.


Great.

Yeah, I did a little commuting yesterday and was thinking I was a moreon. Guess my Chicago trip is well timed.


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## stihl (Oct 27, 2005)

I rode on PCH all weekend. It actually looked pretty clear..until yesterday.


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## cwg_at_opc (Oct 20, 2005)

i live in the Thousand Oaks area too - this morning was the first time
we've had any ash on the cars since this whole mess started last week.
since i work in burbank(disney), i've had a mild headache the whole week
and it's making me extremely unmotivated.

i'm supposed to do 112 on saturday(zuma -> carpinteria -> zuma) and having
not ridden in over a week(in addition to all the days off from my last century)
has left me feeling fat and unprepared. i'm gonna buy a Kurt Kinetic trainer
so i don't have to wait for good air/weather.


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## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

have been riding every day in the Santa Monica Mts since the fires began except Monday (a rest day). The air is fine - along the ridge line in places or climbing from the valley side there is some occasional smells of smoke, but otherwise not bad. The heat was the worst part, but is now not quite as bad (was about 10 degrees cooler yesterday am). The air quality maps have not gone above moderate for the mornings (in other words, no worse than riding in the east part of the valley on most days..).


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

roadfix said:


> Thanks Vanessa. Very simple setup. I have several split fire bricks layed on the bottom rack of my oven. I've been using this similar setup for pizzas in my charcoal and gas grills but using the kitchen oven is so much easier and more convenient.
> 
> But If I really get into this pizza making thing I can see myself building a wood fired brick pompeii oven out in my back yard as I am in the middle of doing a complete back yard overhaul at the moment, including the complete demolition of our termite damaged main deck.
> That's also one reason I haven't been riding much lately...


I need to get some fire bricks so I can turn my oven into a pizza oven.


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

il sogno said:


> I need to get some fire bricks so I can turn my oven into a pizza oven.


Why don't you just go outside and throw some dough on the sidewalk. Wait a few minutes then flip.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

DrRoebuck said:


> Why don't you just go outside and throw some dough on the sidewalk. Wait a few minutes then flip.


Brilliant!!!!


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## tom_h (May 6, 2008)

Palos Verdes peninsula has been clear, no smoke odors. 

There was a small-ish 200 acre brush fire on Thursday night (Aug 27), but was extinguished by the next day. The burned hillside is visible from Palos Verdes Drive South, a couple miles west of the Trump golf course.


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## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

borre13 said:


> I usually ride up the San Gabriels on weekends, and ride around the city during the week, it has been a week already that I haven't been on the bike and already going through withdrawals...and let me tell you something, running on a treadmill sucks...all in all though, my most sincere condolences to everybody affected by the fire...



I'm seriously hating LA right now.


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## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

DrRoebuck said:


> Throw your bike in the car and head for the coast.
> 
> Not saying it's delicious down here, but I'm sure it's an improvement.



I'm about ready to start driving all the way out/up to El Matador a couple of times where hopefully the air is good enough before I head up to northern CA next week for about a week. I really hope things have adequately improved by the time I get back.


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## mikeyp123 (Mar 9, 2007)

Look on the bright side.. it'll be many years, maybe decades before the San Gabriels burn like this again. I grew up in the area, and in 20+ years I've never seen anything like this.


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## grrlyrida (Aug 3, 2006)

roadfix said:


> Thanks Vanessa. Very simple setup. I have several split fire bricks layed on the bottom rack of my oven. I've been using this similar setup for pizzas in my charcoal and gas grills but using the kitchen oven is so much easier and more convenient.
> 
> But If I really get into this pizza making thing I can see myself building a wood fired brick pompeii oven out in my back yard as I am in the middle of doing a complete back yard overhaul at the moment, including the complete demolition of our termite damaged main deck.
> That's also one reason I haven't been riding much lately...


If you build one, I'll rent it from you so I can make baquettes, cinnamon rolls, pizza, herb breads, batards...the possibilities are endless.:idea:


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## roadfix (Jun 20, 2006)

grrlyrida said:


> If you build one, I'll rent it from you so I can make baquettes, cinnamon rolls, pizza, herb breads, batards...the possibilities are endless.:idea:


Sounds good! Can you imagine, pizzas baked in 60 seconds? I like that.


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## borre13 (May 31, 2007)

*True...I guess we'll get a long run*

before we go through this again. Although I seem to recall last year or the year before there were a few days when the air was just as bad...not weeks though...
I wonder if Hwy 2 will be closed off after the fire is over, kind of like Chantry flats Road was closed after the landslides for a long time...It was nice riding w/o cars or motorcycles flying by...I was reading some of the news and they say that in some parts the roads are melted...:cryin: ...am I going to need a cyclocross bike now? :idea:


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## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

mikeyp123 said:


> Look on the bright side.. it'll be many years, maybe decades before the San Gabriels burn like this again. I grew up in the area, and in 20+ years I've never seen anything like this.



That's the only thing I can keep telling myself when start getting bummed out about it.


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## fast ferd (Jan 30, 2009)

No way on earth they'd close Angeles Crest Highway for a prolonged period. It will reopen within a week after they extinquish the fires. It's a state highway connecting to the Antelope Valley. Plus, there's a few restaurants up yonder. I hope they're still there!

Another bright side of all this: it will be safer climbing ACH without the high desert brush obscuring riders for approaching vehicles. Sometimes cars and motorcycles come screaming around some of those turns and it scares the beejebus outta me.


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## mikeyp123 (Mar 9, 2007)

Air quality was much improved Thursday, at least in Pasadena area.. not sure if the Rose Bowl ride went off. Anyone ventured out for a ride yet?


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## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

mikeyp123 said:


> Air quality was much improved Thursday, at least in Pasadena area.. not sure if the Rose Bowl ride went off. Anyone ventured out for a ride yet?


Not yet. 

I live 5 miles from the Rose Bowl. I think anyone who would do the Rose Bowl ride in this air ought to have their head examined. I could still see ash falling from the sky tonight.


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## Joe Dirte (Apr 5, 2009)

rocco said:


> Not yet.
> 
> I live 5 miles from the Rose Bowl. I think anyone who would do the Rose Bowl ride in this air ought to have their head examined. I could still see ash falling from the sky tonight.


Thursdays Rose Bowl ride was pretty dark and muggy but have to say the air wasnt that bad. I guestimate under 40 people showed which kept the pace kinda high. Must need my head checked


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## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

Joe Dirte said:


> Thursdays Rose Bowl ride was pretty dark and muggy but have to say the air wasnt that bad. I guestimate under 40 people showed which kept the pace kinda high. Must need my head checked



Judging by the South Coast AQMD map things are starting to improve significantly this evening. 

The area around the Rose Bowl is just barely in the moderate range Air Quality Index with an AQI value of 96. Up until this evening the area was in the "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" or "Unhealthy" categories with the AQI value over 100... sometimes well over. Personally I won't do any hard efforts on the bike in air with an index score much over 60... but I'm allergic to smoke and I like my lungs.


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