Face masks for cycling
With all this talk of smog and pollution I was reminded of when I first cycled in London in 2001 from Clapham (I know, London for beginners / London for people who don’t like London) to Old Street. I used to wear a face mask then and remember two things about it. The first being the horrid black deposits on the bit where you had been breathing. The second being the nasty set of spots I used to get around the side of it where sweat and dirt would collect. I eventually stopped using it for the spotty reason.
The other reason I was thinking about face masks was that I recently went for a bike ride with James and ended up back at The Gowlett after to have a OJ and lemonade in the sun. This guy rocked up on his bike and clearly wanted to chat. He asked us where we’d been and then went on a big speech about how he uses a cycling mask when riding around London and how much better he felt for using it. We then politely asked where he’d been on his bike that day and if he’d been far.
Oh no, not too far today I’ve just been to the shops to get some cigarettes.
The irony seemed completely lost on him.