any smoker-cyclists out there

Burnt a pretty hole in a nice flannel when some hot ash from my pipe bounced out. Also nearly bit through the stem. Sad faces all around.

 

Here's a link to a thumb of that old picture of riders smoking while in the Tour De France: http://www.intimage.com.au/images/PhotoGraphic Prints/Cigarette_thumb.jpg

I smoked cigars for 20 years. I smoked good ones so I can't say I didn't enjoy it. I don't want to think about the 1000's of dollars I spent on stoggies. I quit about two years ago after I noticed a persistant spot on my tongue. It looked like the taste buds had all been burned away in a thumbprint size patch in the front off to the right - exactly where the butt of the cigar used to sit. I immediately thought about Eddie Van Halen who had tongue cancer. After working up the courage, I went to a doctor who told me it wasn't cancer and he wasnt' sure what it was. The spot is still there. I don't smoke any more.

 

Any time my friends ask me how I can smoke and ride my bike so much, I just tell them how much more I'd be smoking if I DIDN'T ride a bike so much. Hey, we're not all Lance. I ride to stay in shape and I enjoy the hell out of it. No, smoking isn't good for me but neither is too much scotch, driving fast, eating cheese fries or hooking up with too many waitresses in college but I'm alive God Damnit and I'll enjoy my life as I see fit. We're all just a heartbeat away from who knows what. The last thing I want to do is leave a healthy corpse. When I go, I want nothing left.[/QUOTE]
I love it ........ I too enjoy a unfiltered Camel in the morning.... I love a scotch and water , and I have been clocked at 135 on my way to see a woman with very few morals..... Cheese fries ???? "The Food of the Gods" ........
I admit I have enjoyed a Camel during a century ride..... I have never enjoyed a waitress in college during a century , but I have hopes of that..... I do not trust anyone who does not have a vice........

 

hehehehehe.... u da man. Never, but never, trust anyone who doesn't have a vice (or several)...

I love it ........ I too enjoy a unfiltered Camel in the morning.... I love a scotch and water , and I have been clocked at 135 on my way to see a woman with very few morals..... Cheese fries ???? "The Food of the Gods" ........
I admit I have enjoyed a Camel during a century ride..... I have never enjoyed a waitress in college during a century , but I have hopes of that..... I do not trust anyone who does not have a vice........[/QUOTE]

 

Whenever anyone asks me about smoking and cycling. I always refer them to the men in the Marines and the SAS, who after a 40 mile run have a fag a couple of pints and a bag of chips!

 

I'm very glad I was able to quit smoking about seven years ago, (with the help of an accupuncurist, a hypnotist and my friends who tollerated me being a royal bitch for about a month.)

I was unable to smoke in moderation. When I smoked, it was a pack or more every day. If I was one of those people who could have a smoke at a party and then leave it alone the rest of the week, I'd still be doing it.

Now, my worst vices are ice cream and cinnimon rolls, and I carry the extra 10 pounts or so, to prove it. It would be more if I didn't cycle.

 

I...err.. know someone who smokes a lot of something else, and that person is a big cyclist. His performance seems only to be affected when he's doing both at once.

Which makes for some fun nights on the rollers.

 

Ive heard that something else that people smoke is good for opening up your lungs and increasing capacity?

 

I think I know that guy...... I remember a ride when he rode his usual route that took about 2 1/2 hours ............ He hit on some of that .....errrrrrr something else stuff , and on that ride the miles just zipped by ....... He was flying ...... He wqs convinced he beat the old time record by a large margin ..... But when I ..... I mean him , looked at the computer , my time , I mean his time was about 1 hour slower........ But that brings up an interesting question ........... Are you faster if you feel faster ??????

 

I smoke between 40 and 50 a day and I know it is slowing me down and making the hills harder. I do it though still as I am a Total ADDICT!

 

I know someone like Wolfix, no wait his friend, and he tells me that his smoking/cycling cocktail makes both better. I'm not sure what he meant by that. People usually start looking at me funny whenever I ask him about it.

 

lol good thread guys. yep smoker me.... and i know a friend how smokes an awefull lot of the you know what.....i'm in the process (in my mind it's a process) of quiting... from pack and half a day to monday 3, tuesday 2, today 2. went for a ride yesterday. felt soooo much better, but it could have been that friend of mine.... if you catch my drift....

 

I'm waiting for someone to come out with a riding jersey with the ZIG-ZAG or CAMEL logo on it ......... I'm not a heavy smoker , just a few Camels a day ...... If I hit one of those unfiltered Camels before riding it seems to open my lungs up to allow more oxygen in ..... Makes the hills ride easier..... This "Lance is doping hysteria" that has gripped the cycling world is funny ...... I remember back in the days before lycra when "almost all Cat 4 riders were doping", but not the performance enhancing kind they use today . I bet there are a few old guys in here that remember those little French tire patch kits that came in a small tin ...... Perfect to hold some Zig-Zags and a little "Tobacco."

 

Hey swerwer...... I just noticed you are from the caymans..... What's the riding like down there???? I was there sometime in 1975 but I was not paying attention to the riding conditions...... I would like to find one of those islands down there where a guy could find a cheap place to rent for about 6 weeks and get some quality riding in and some night life .........

 

i dont smoke, but i notice fellow cyclists/bikers who smoke seem to enjoy thier smokes more when they ride. when we stop to rest they light up and inhale deep!

Funny how some riders prefer a cigarette and beer over powerbars and gatorade

 

Yeah ...... I never been to a Fine Dining establishment that specialized in Powerbars and served chilled Gatorade..... I was a non-smoker for 40 years...... I now enjoy a unfiltered camel in the morning with my coffee...... Funny thing , about the time I started smoking , I gave up my heart rate monitor, a milage log , and I now enjoy cycling more then I ever have ......

 

I smoked the something else everyday during the winter part of the school year (im a senior in high school) and drank (still do) like a fish on the weekends, and I'm quite certain that it hasn't helped cycling at all. In august of last year I could keep a 19-20mph pace of a century. Now I go 15mph for 30 miles (although i just started after winter) but I dont think my hedonistic life style helped anything at all.

 

Michael ...... A hedonistic lifestyle does not lead to cycling greatness until you have put in your sufferig time.. High school ???? Way too young. And it sounds way too excessive at your age. However, when you get older you can then handle some hedonistic lifestyle , tempered with long rides.... At your age I was doing strong century rides too , while my buddies was experimenting with the smoke and beer.....
Michael , you need to be concentrating on the ladies. Cycling helps with that too . Women love shaved and smooth legs.....
My training schedule of riding 20-30 miles a day , drinking a beer after the ride, and enjoying a Camel with my morning coffee works for me.... I am assuming that I will not be asked to ride the tour this year .....
You will find your legs this year .......

 

bah, 18 years old is old enough to do anything.

and, I don't need to shave my legs to get the ladies, although the nice looking calves help.

 

Yeah, I smoke and ride; not at the same time – never carry them on the bike, but it sure is stupid. In fact, I’m surprised I do as well as I do on the bike after years of those things. Got the road bike about 18 months ago, could barely get it around the block at first; but was doing centuries within eight or nine months and regularly do 150-200 miles a week. On laps around Central Park, I pass far more often than get passed these days. I’m in my mid-forties and most of the other dedicated cyclists in there are a lot younger than I am. Kind of makes me wonder what I could do if I gave the things up.

I find that I really crave a smoke after about an hour into a long ride, but the craving goes away pretty soon and that’s the end of it. So I get home after hours in the saddle and have no desire for a smoke at all - none. But, of course, the first thing I do is fire up a smoke. Stupid! This does, however, appear to be a quitting method that might just work. When I can, I’m going to take a few days off work and spend those days entirely on long all-day rides; but without smoking when I get home. We’ll see what happens….