Breathless in Beijing: Natooke CEO Ines Brunn on How (and Why) She Cycles Through the Smog

In this portion of MayAir’s sponsored series, we interview members of Beijing’s international community about what they think and how they deal with the capital’s pollution woes.

During our city’s smoggiest days many Beijingers deem cycling to be unsafe. This is completely understandable, but Ines Brunn begs to differ. Her stance shouldn’t be surprising – after all, she is the founder and CEO of NATOOKE, a bicycle shop and sporting goods store in Wudaoying Hutong, and a noted cycling enthusiast whose gravity defying bike tricks are frequently covered by Chinese media outlets, including TBJ. However, Brunn insists her reasoning is logical, impartial and best for not only the environment, but also the health of regular Beijingers. 
 

“Some people are under the impression that if the air is bad, you should be in a taxi or drive a car rather than ride a bike. And that is completely wrong, because in a taxi car or bus you’re still going to be breathing the bad air; you haven’t gotten away from the pollution just because you’re in this metal thing,” she says, adding: “You should be wearing the same mask that you would have to on a bike. Plus, you’re contributing to the pollution with the car’s exhaust fumes, which I don’t think is a good solution.”

Before cycling off into the smoggy distance – atop her bright purple bike that smartly matches her jacket and specialty helmet, that protects against concussions – Brunn tells us more the virtues of pedaling through haze, how she copes with red alerts, and more. 
 

A lot of people say “If it’s bad out, I don’t ride.” But if you’re walking, or standing on the street, or cycling, you don’t need to cycle fast, you’re breathing the same depth. It doesn't make any sense to avoid biking and only walk. But don’t do a marathon.

I don’t get that depressed or annoyed on polluted days, because this is not something new. The city has had smog problems for a long time. It different or more intense than it used to be, but it’s been here forever. The only thing that’s frustrating for me is sports are a good way to get my energy out and feel good. But I’ve set a limit to not be active on days where the AQI is over 150, so that I’m not breathing heavily when it’s polluted. That can be really difficult. 

When people back home ask me what the smog is like, I tell them that when pollution is really high you can’t see very far. Sunlight can’t get in at the worst of times, so it can also make for a dark day. That’s how I describe it, and also that the air is full of tiny particles.
 

One of the worst things about the pollution is that I notice, when I blow my nose, that black stuff comes out instead of the normal colored stuff [laughs]. And on really polluted days, I kind of feel like my head is heavy. I’m not prone to headaches, but I get a feeling like something is clogging me up when it’s smoggy.  

I am optimistic about the future, because the Chinese government is aware of the issues. Especially after the Paris climate conference, they have a lot of pressure. So I think these “red alerts” that we’ve been having are because of that. China in general has huge pressure from other countries and knows they have to somehow get this under control and take care of it. So I’m very optimistic about the future.

Some people claim it has gotten better, and I agree to an extent. But the question is: What is “better?” I have an APP that shows the pollution levels, whether it’s a green day, a yellow day or a red day. So sure, the number of green days, or blue-sky days, has actually a bit more than it was two years ago or three years ago. But when I look at it, I feel that there are many more red days, (when the AQI is over 300). So we also still have really, really bad days. I don’t really care if it’s green or yellow or the beginning of orange, because those are the levels I can still ride in. If more yellow days are turning to green, that’s nice of course. But for me it’s not nice that there are so many days that are still dark red.

When the AQI is under 150 I like cycling along Beijing’s canals. There are lots of pretty canals in Beijing. Or, if I have more time, I also enjoy cycling out to the mountains. Of course it’s much more fun to do so on a blue-sky day, you get a much better view.
 

On nice days I have a favorite loop that I like to ride on. I go north on Lama Temple Street, and just continue north all the way, in the direction of Si Hai. Eventually you get to this turn that takes you east, this road that used to have hardly any traffic. It climbs up a mountain and down into this really nice valley. Unfortunately they’ve now paved most of it, which means there’s probably going to be more traffic. It used to have unpaved patches, which meant there were hardly any cars. It used to be one of my favorite loops. But I haven’t done it in 2015, because whenever I had time the pollution was over 150. So I don’t know how much the traffic has increased.

If I could bottle fresh air from anywhere to sniff on a smoggy Beijing day, I’d choose air from the Swiss Alps. I mean there are probably better places in Greenland or northern Canada, but I’m just familiar with the Swiss Alps, so it’d be the easiest place. 

On a blue-sky day I try to be out. I open the windows in my apartment, no matter how cold it is, because I just want to get the air in.
 

Here’s How to Protect Yourself and Breathe Easier
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Photos courtesy of Ines Brunn, Uni You