Mountain Cedar, Bane of the Hill Country

The Texas Hill Country is home to some of the best motorcycle routes in the USA and I am very fortunate to live there and ride it almost every weekend.  There are miles of twisty roads and amazing views, cool rivers, and rugged ranches. Unfortunately that same beautiful country is also home to the most spiteful tree I've ever encountered, the Mountain Cedar.

Technically it is a Juniper, not a Cedar.  Either way it means suffering for those of us who have the misfortune of being allergic to its pollen.  Every January Mountain Cedar is in full bloom and sends its pollen to the winds.  The trees release so much pollen that they appear to be smoking and the pollen count in the air can reach over 30,000 particles per cubic meter of air on the heaviest days.   To put this in perspective Today the pollen count for mold was 100 particles per cubic meter and considered "light" Mountain Cedar was reported at 860 particles per cubic meter and that is considered "heavy."  30,000 is just overwhelming.

Symptoms include congestion, runny nose, itchy eyes, general aching, and almost flu-like symptoms.  This translates to nearly a month of me feeling like utter crap despite the myriad of antihistamines, nasal sprays, filtration masks, and a neti pot that I use to keep myself feeling human.

The range of Mountain Cedar proliferation is the Hill Country, they are one and the same. That means that for the month of January I won't be going on many rides, but once the Cedar dies down and the temperature rises I will be out there riding to interesting places, taking photos of the roadside oddities that I find in my journeys.