The temperatures over the last week have brought Air Quality Warnings again. The readings have been over 60 for three days last week. A reading of over 50 is considered poor. Smog is potentially harmfull to cyclists and others who exercise out doors. The City of Toronto has information as to the Health effects of smog Health and Smog. You can minimize your risk by riding when smog levels are less. That tends to be in the morning and evenings. You can see the actual air quality readings during the day at the Ontario Ministry of the Environment's web site: Downtown Toronto Air Quality reading. There you can get the readings for other locations in Ontario and also the readings for the past two days or the whole year. Air Quality History

There are things you can do to reduce the amount of smog. These are listed on the City of Toronto's web page. What can I do at work and at home on Smog Alert/Watch days to reduce smog?

An interesting link between cycling and smog is the provinical government's announcement that it will add 4 CAN-BIKE trained cycling officers to it's Smog Patrol to pull over vehicles that are suspected of polluting beyond what is considered acceptable. The rationale is that the bikes can move thru traffic easier. I guess they also are not adding to the smog. For more details on this see the Ministy of the Environment's press release. ONTARIO'S SMOG PATROL TARGETS SMOKING VEHICLES
Martin Koob
tcc-rep@tbn.ca