2015 On the road today...

[euph]

Near the top of the Lot Valley in the south of France.

[prendrefeu]

SoCal smog. Yuck... Nice picture otherwise.

Actually that isn't smog. LA's air quality hasn't been bad in a long, long time.
What you're seeing is two fold:
We have an inversion layer, which most people think is smog, because of the proximity between a very large body of water and some quite tall mountains surrounding most of the "urban" areas (San Gabriels)
During the summer most mornings are also very foggy due to the accumulation of moisture in the valleys and basins, coming from a combination of that proximity to the ocean, heat taking water from a massive watershed (most of LA's buildings are in one of a few huge watersheds, even during a drought there is a lot of water flowing beneath us), and of course high mountains trapping it all in.

So... yeah, not smog.

Smog? Go to Beijing or Mexico D.F. - THAT is smog.

[lrdunc]

^^ Still feels like smog sometimes! Though I know you're right. I always feel like the air in/around my area (West Hollywood) is gross. My buddy and I did Mandeville this morning before work and that still didn't feel great. Topanga / Old Topanga / Fernwood, on the other hand, always feel a lot cleaner to me.

Where do you live / ride most of the time?

[nismosr]

Mopho nice pictures ... are taken by a go pro ?

[53x12]

SoCal smog. Yuck... Nice picture otherwise.

Actually that isn't smog. LA's air quality hasn't been bad in a long, long time.
What you're seeing is two fold:
We have an inversion layer, which most people think is smog, because of the proximity between a very large body of water and some quite tall mountains surrounding most of the "urban" areas (San Gabriels)
During the summer most mornings are also very foggy due to the accumulation of moisture in the valleys and basins, coming from a combination of that proximity to the ocean, heat taking water from a massive watershed (most of LA's buildings are in one of a few huge watersheds, even during a drought there is a lot of water flowing beneath us), and of course high mountains trapping it all in.

So... yeah, not smog.

Smog? Go to Beijing or Mexico D.F. - THAT is smog.

I wasn't talking about the white layer (right and upper portion of picture). I was looking at the yellowy/brown mess (center and center left). That is smog. Some of the same reason you guys get an inversion layer, is also why your smog is bad. LA in a low lying coast plain, surrounded by high mountains and deserts on the other side = air circulation is very limited as a result. When I have visited SoCal for business, as soon as I land at the airport and get outside, I can taste and smell the smog. It is immediate for me coming from outside the region.

I'm not making this up, you guys have the worse air quality in the country.

http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-04 ... story.html

Btw, this wasn't a picture of Beijing or Mexico City. So couldn't make that comment. But I could make it for LA. Nice picture, but that smog is a bummer.

[lrdunc]

Just for some comparison here...

This one was taken from the same spot along Mulholland looking down at Universal City about a week ago (also early morning):



And this one was taken in Palos Verdes looking north toward Redondo Beach sometime in early January of this year (I think I posted it earlier in this thread):



My parents live in Redondo Beach and my dad rides, so I go down there pretty often to ride Palos Verdes with him. The air is much nicer along the water!

[ross]

I've driven hundreds of laps in my car, but this was my first time on the Nurburgring on a bike



Rain and strong winds delayed the start by 6 hours



But it made for a lovely sunset when the clouds cleared



Racing gets underway, we had teams of 4 so I had to wait a little before my first lap



It was dark by the time I got to Hohe Acht



Sunrise over the GP circuit, was very welcome after a cold, damp night









Lots of dew on my tent



Gaining confidence in the grip levels through the fast right hander at Aremberg followed by the long descent into the Foxhole during daylight hours, I hit my VMax on this - my third lap The entire first half of the lap on a bike is done without braking at all. I'm normally doing more than double this in a car through this section, but it feels fast enough on a bike



Karussell in the early morning sunshine, had to stop and take a photo. The sunlight was coming through the trees making the uphill ride very pleasant



Pflantzgarten I, my favourite section of track in a car - very technical and you can get airbourne here...but not on a bike!



Dottinge Hohe straight, the infamous gantry that marks the end of the unofficial timed laps on the tourist drives



Bit of spectating





Took the old girl up the castle



All sorts of bikes out there, there were concurrent 24hr MTB races and 24hr e-bike races too





We finished 2nd out of our groups 7x team entries so not bad, no idea overall.

[lrdunc]

Wow. Incredible! ^^^

[ross]

Thank you, it was an amazing experience and I will definitely be going back next year

[53x12]

ross beautiful! I am really jealous. One of my dreams to ride around the Nürburgring on a bike and in a car. If you don't mind sharing, how much is entry into a bike event like that?

[MoPho]

Mopho nice pictures ... are taken by a go pro ?

Yes, but I had to do a lot of work to them in post

Thanks!


,

[Nefarious86]

Back lasted 20km this morning. Not f#$king happy...

[ross]

ross beautiful! I am really jealous. One of my dreams to ride around the Nürburgring on a bike and in a car. If you don't mind sharing, how much is entry into a bike event like that?

Thanks mate! I went as part of larger group run by Mission Motorsport who entered 7x 4 man teams and it was 250 euros for the weekend which included a cycling jersey, all catering & support during the event and a BBQ finish party. Had to take my own tent & sleeping bag etc. Accommodation and breakfast added another 50 euros per night either side. Totally beautiful area of the world to ride and some tough climbs!

[djm]

[wingguy]

My new local!









Just go pro screen grabs for now but I'm going to get something to do it more justice