Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Fest Aborted: Pollen Derails Mongo


For those people who do not live in any number of southern states in this great country of ours, your exposure to pollen and springtime allergies is purely amateurish by comparison. In Atlanta, where Mongo lives, I have to deal with what many consider the worst overall air quality in the country. When April rolls around and the pollen fills the air, going outside can sometimes be downright dangerous.

Mongo has lived in this environment for over a decade, and every year I get crushed at the beginning of allergy season. It just so happened that it started for real yesterday...and Mongo had to go out and do the Hammerfest. In the pollen statistic world, a count of 0-30=low, 31-60=Moderate, 61-120=High, and 120+=Extremely High.

On Monday for the 'Fest, the pollen count was...1633! Today it was 2967! That's more that 10x and 20x what is considered extremely high. Needless to say, Mongo was a wreck and absolutely no good on the bike Monday. I had to give up half way through the ride. My head was pounding and I could never catch my breath...it really sucked!

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