Post #3901501

2026-07-17 23:58 UTC

@ascentale@sfba.social @uxMark@cosocial.ca @cainmark@mstdn.social @bikenite@fedigroups.social A6. It depends. A woman died simply stepping off a plane in Canberra, the momentarily still winds allowed the smoke from the ORRORAL fire to densely settle. Whereas the smoke from the large LONG PLAINS fire coloured the sky but was very high. The other concern is simply being caught in a fire front whilst cycling. LONG PLAINS was a grass fire pushed by huge winds, burning 120Km in about three hours. So cycling in an already smoky atmosphere means a fire can arrive without warning. This happened to a few people in the very large GOSPERS COMPLEX fire with its multiple fire fronts. The older N95 masks, with the exhaust port, look the goods for cycling in smoke. I'd suggest wearing close fit goggles rather than glasses (eg, uvex ultrasonic). When you get home change and have a shower, you don't think you stink, but you do, and moving the smoke smell from sofas and the like is a tough job. #bikenite

Replies (1)

@glent@aus.social 2026-07-18 02:48

@ascentale@sfba.social @uxMark@cosocial.ca @cainmark@mstdn.social @bikenite@fedigroups.social A6. I'd like to add a caution about cycling in the vicinity of bushfires. The winds on such days are often huge. So if the road has a section where you need to cycle into the wind, you can be making inadequate progress no matter how fit you are. If you think car drivers are stupid normally, bushfires add a big gulp of the red cordial drink. When in smoky conditions driving away from a fire you want to be doing about 40Km/h, as realistically the greatest danger is running off the road or hitting a fallen tree or stopped car -- then you are in a car which is not drivable, with smashed windows, with an approaching fire. But YouTube has no shortage of drivers 'escaping a bushfire' at 120Km/h along a smoke-covered country road. I don't want to overstate this. Since using a bike to evacuate in a threatened periurban area may make sense. #bikenite

Open ##3901510