Pollen Count

[kbone]

The pollen count in Metro Atlanta is 5,208 today. It was about the same yesterday. I went for a ride and had a really hard time dealing with it. I could feel it coating my nose, mouth, eyes, etc. It was so bad that when I took my helmet off I had green lines of pollen on my head where the air vents are.

Anybody have any good tricks for dealing with the pollen while riding?

[dawgie]

I've developed allergies as I grow older, and tree pollen in the spring is one of the worst offenders for me. I keep track of the pollen count and sometimes avoid riding outdoors when the count is really high. On those days, I simply don't ride or go to spin class at the Y instead.

Several years ago, I rode a lot of miles in April when the pollen count was very high. That's when my allergies started becoming a problem. I can remember feeling ill after some rides and developing hacking coughs on those evenings. It sucks because the weather this time of year can be great for riding, particularly after the winter cold.

Last year, I was careful to limit my outdoor riding on high pollen days and also adjusted my diet, and had relatively few problems from my allergies, and didn't have to take pills even once. In my case, I am also mildly allergic to wheat, milk products and household dust -- so controlling my exposure to those things really helped reduce my problems from the polllen. As my allergist explained it, your immune system is like a bucket, and your bad symptoms develop when the bucket overflows. If you can limit exposure to other allergens (eg, milk, wheat, dust in my case), then the pollen is less likely to reach levels that bother you. That advice seemed to work for me.

[thejen12]

The pollen count in Metro Atlanta is 5,208 today. It was about the same yesterday. I went for a ride and had a really hard time dealing with it. I could feel it coating my nose, mouth, eyes, etc. It was so bad that when I took my helmet off I had green lines of pollen on my head where the air vents are.

Anybody have any good tricks for dealing with the pollen while riding?
That sounds disgusting! I've never ridden in anything that bad, but on high pollen/mold days I have an air purifier that I run in the house so that at least when I get home I get to breathe good, clean air.

I also tend to limit my riding on windy days in the Spring, as they seem to be the worst for me. My symptoms are bad enough that it's worth it for me a take a day (or a few days) off the bike in those conditions. You actually didn't mention having any allergy symptoms, so maybe you just need to take extra water on those rides to periodically rinse off the pollen?

Jenn

[dawgie]

The pollen count in Raleigh, NC, today was over 9,000! ... and I rode in it. I actually feel fine, but from past experience I've found that excess pollen exposure can have a cumulative effect. I won't ride outside for the next couple of days, so I should be fine. What really gets to me is taking a long ride when the pollen is so high.

[Jason E]

I'm here in Raleigh as well.

I normally take an Alavert every morning and a Singular every night during allergy season and I'm fine. Today it's overwhelming. I washed the cars Sunday. Today, it was like the pictures of ash from Mt. St Hellens, 'cept not gray :rolleyes: .

I opened the door to my car and some of the Pollen sheeted off like snow does.

Aaaaaacccckkk.

[kbone]

It's nasty out there. I didn't think there was much other than avoiding it or toughing it out. I will keep taking the Alegra-D and time off until we either get some rain or the pollen dies down. It's really a shame though - the weather is great and it feels like a waste of a good day.

[vandeda]

I've developed allergies as I grow older, and tree pollen in the spring is one of the worst offenders for me. I keep track of the pollen count and sometimes avoid riding outdoors when the count is really high. On those days, I simply don't ride or go to spin class at the Y instead.


My allergies were really bad last year ... the worst I remember since I moved to NY about 8 years ago. What really helped me was, after riding or doing something outdoors, I changed out of my pollen impregnated clothing and took a shower immediately afterwards if possible to wash all the pollen off, especially around my face. This helped tremendously, and when I didn't do this ... oh boy watch out it got pretty ugly sometimes.

So that's something that really helped me cope.
d

[wdlewis]

I rode in Atlanta (Silver Comet Trail) Sunday PM and Tuesday AM. My bike and I were light green!

I'm not sure why, but only my eyes suffered from the pine pollen. I use Naphcon A eye drops (OTC) and they really help.

I saw a number of riders wearing scarfs that covered both nose and mouth. You might try that.

[yeehawfactor]

we're getting crushed in boone. fortunately it's raining now. i'm usually fine until i miss a day of antihistimine.

[vaxn8r]

I rode in Atlanta (Silver Comet Trail) Sunday PM and Tuesday AM. My bike and I were light green!

I'm not sure why, but only my eyes suffered from the pine pollen. I use Naphcon A eye drops (OTC) and they really help.

I saw a number of riders wearing scarfs that covered both nose and mouth. You might try that.
That stuff is OK and they are cheap. But there's way more effective drops and sprays and such these days.

Better option: pray for rain.