And now: Bicycling may be bad for you. Not from The Onion.

[KamaAina]

Seriesly.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/07/11/BAGG1K737V.DTL

When Ed Campaniello chooses his biking route between his Mission District home and job in downtown San Francisco, traffic is a top consideration.

And new research shows that's a smart move - not only because fewer cars mean less of a chance of being hit, but because polluting vehicles may give cyclists heart problems.

The 42-year-old solar energy consultant said it makes sense. Occasionally, he gets a funky taste in his mouth after riding behind trucks and buses....

A new study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives showed a link between biking in heavy traffic and heart health risks, with cyclists having heart irregularities in the hours after their exposure to a variety of air pollutants on busy roads.

:shrug:

[Blue Owl]

1. Yeah, that oppressive pollution is all the bike's fault.

Obviously the best solution is to let the vehicles keep polluting and do away with biking.

:sarcasm:

[eppur_se_muova]

17. Hey ! You're not supposed to think for yourself !

Just accept the conclusions that are fed to you like a good citizen consumer!

[xchrom]

2. Recommend

[gratuitous]

3. I plan my route carefully

Yeah, being behind someone whose vehicle is pumping out the emissions can have an effect. I build in an extra five miles each way to be on a multi-use (bike) path just to minimize my exposure. And indeed, the fewer motor vehicles you have to contend with, the safer the commute.

[Shagbark Hickory]

4. Just wear a gas mask or use a S.C.U.B.A.

Problem solved.

Sounds like an article brought to you by the oil and gas lobby.
Don't ride your bike because if you're lucky and don't get hit by a car, you'll surely die a slow painful death of from heart problems.

[KamaAina]

5. Actually the byline read "Environmental Health Network"

it's just something I never thought of before. I particularly appreciated the "funky taste" detail. :puke:

[Shagbark Hickory]

8. Environmental Health Network sounds like Americans For Prosperity etc. nm

[KamaAina]

11. It's Environmental Health News

and it looks legit.

http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/about.html

I hear what you're saying about astroturf groups, though.

[Aerows]

14. LOL does to me too n/t

[frylock]

6. i never have that problem out on the trails..

get 2-3 miles into the canyons, and you forget all about cars and pollution and people.

[Eddie Haskell]

7. Pickup drivers in my area go out of their way to challenge bikers.

I had one accelerate and come so close to hitting me, I called the police. These skin-heads think bike riders are liberal targets.

[JonTheGreat]

20. Complain much?

I don't think they're targeting you for being liberal, it's just because you ride the bike, nothing else.

I've encounted people who cut me off because I drive a European car. There are ass holes everywhere.

The best thing is to report them like you did though.

[Fumesucker]

27. First you accuse another poster of mind reading..

And then you pull the exact same mind reading trick in the sentence immediately following.

I haven't seen that level of self p3wnage since OMC got a pizza.

:evilgrin:

[kenny blankenship]

35. Don't take it personal. Pick up drivers (of new trucks) are assholes to everybody.

Just my 100% certain conclusion from years of careful scientific observations and record keeping. Older pickup drivers do not suffer from this conspicuously flaming asshole syndrome. Researchers are unclear on the connection between new pickup ownership and CFAS, as well as being unable to explain why drivers of older pickups seem to have a resistance to CFAS.

[Eddie Haskell]

36. Don't take it personal? ... he tried to hit me!

As I looked into the driver's eyes, he accellerated and turned toward me. Had I hesitated for one second, I would have been hit.

[ileus]

9. buy a car morans! BTW I did 20 miles yesterday.

and encountered 5 cars total...

[Odin2005]

10. Cities need to become more bike and pedestrial friendly.

[joeybee12]

16. True, but I'm not seeing any evidence of them going that way...

execpt in a few cities/towns.

[bvar22]

12. Aren't the people driving those vehicles or living next to the roads

..breathing the same air?
Why do these pollutants affect bicyclers only?

[JonTheGreat]

22. Because...

As I would imagine the pollutants have less time to disperse for those riding bikes, so they get more of it at once since the car is passing. The person in the house woulden't be bothered because the fumes would be so dispersed by then.

And almost every modren car has filters that take that stuff out of the air. I changed the cabin air filter on my Jetta yesterday and it was almost black.

[bvar22]

24. Oh Yes!.

I'm sure you will be perfectly safe sitting in your car with the windows all rolled up.
Try some duct tape & plastic too.
That was the recommendation for surviving Bio/Chem/radiological attacks.

[JonTheGreat]

25. What's your issue?

I was saying why those in cars were not affected by this. The filters in modern cars a designed to remove most of the stuff from the air coming in the car. This is something extra those on bikes don't get. I imagine you could see smiler things happening to those on motor bikes and people who keep the tops of convertibles down in the city.

But yes, you won't be breathing all the same crap sitting in a car with the windows up.

[AngryAmish]

13. It aint good for the prostate

[dembotoz]

15. and posted in the video section for your enjoyment

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x599011


i thought it was funny
others took is more seriously

[madinmaryland]

18. Imagine what would happen if they were smoking cigarettes.

[taterguy]

28. Only a dumbass would ride a bike and smoke cigarettes

:eyes:

[JonTheGreat]

19. And? Know the risks and deal with them.

If you ride a bike there are a lot of risks, just add this one to it.

I'll keep my safe, cool box on wheels.

[zappaman]

21. Ahhhh yes

makes me love living in Venice, CA even more.
rode 25 miles yesterday all on the coastline.
can't beat it!

[WI_DEM]

23. actually that makes sense. All that emissions from cars and buses

[Edweird]

26. Biking in heavy traffic, sure. Biking in places where there is no traffic, not so much.

[kwassa]

29. don't tell taterguy!

[taterguy]

31. Well since I've posted once in this thread I probably already know

But I guess I could just post in threads without even reading the Header first.

:shrug:

ps: I'm well aware that cycling exposes my body to toxins, since all routes to my job involve serious levels of traffic.

[kwassa]

34. you actually read a thread before posting???!!!!!???

so THATS what I'm supposed to do!

I run, I don't ride bikes, but I don't run on major streets because I hate the gas fumes, and dust thrown in the air by tires.

[surrealAmerican]

30. It's not the bicycling, it's the exhaust fumes.

We have known for rather a long time that those are bad for you.

[yella_dawg]

32. No Problem

[taterguy]

33. I'm sure that would feel great while commuting home when the temps are well over 90

[yella_dawg]

37. We've been over a hundred for nearly two months.

I can't imagine riding with something like that on my face in October. Right now, the sweat-soaked filter medium would suffocate you before you made five miles.

[yella_dawg]

38. What, exactly, does riding in a car do to eliminate this problem?

I realize that you breath in a lot more of the gunk on a bike simply because you breathe more, but I suspect that this would be pretty much offset by the fact that the average rider has a good deal more lung capacity and better respiratory health than the average coffin pilot.

[taterguy]

39. The article claims the closer you are to a tail pipe, the worse it is

"Near the tailpipe, these particles are small enough to lodge deep in the lungs. Tiny particles can also cross the blood-brain barrier, potentially harming the nervous system. Farther away from the tailpipe, these particles clump together, growing too large to lodge deeply, Ryan said."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/07/10/BAGG1K737V.DTL#ixzz1S7ZIUwqp

Not sure if I buy it but it seems plausible.

The article does point out that the fact that you're exercising is helpful though.

If I ever got tested I'm not sure if they'd be able to distinguish auto pollutants from the cigarette toxins I voluntarily ingest.