Did you smoke and stop and notice any difference cycling.

[ray316]

l've been cycling for around 7 years now and average 15 to 20 miles 3 to 4 days a week.
I have smoked since I was 15 and l'm 57 now and trying to pack up so I've got one of those e-cigs, been on it for a week now and up to now a cigarette hasn't bothered me..
Hope I can kick this bad habit as we all know it's not good for your health..
Anyway what l would like to ask is ....Did anyone smoke when they took up cycling and now pack in smoking, if there is anyone who has, can you tell me was there a improvement in you cycling performance and fitness.
Myself l was never short of breath , and l could do 16mph no problem so l'm hoping I can improve my cycling mph in the coming months...

 

[ufkacbln]

Don't know

I was a smoker

Then I had a slight cycle accident with a fractured skull, clavicle, ribs, pelvis and femur

I was bed bound for a couple of weeks and not allowed to smoke

As soon as I was able I nipped out for a cigarette, and disliked it... I had a choice to either reacquire the taste or give up

Chose the latter

However the injuries were a greater influence on my cycling than giving up the evil weed

Trouble though is that some 30 years later I am now suffering from the arthritis and problems caused to the hip

 

[Fisheh]

Not exactly what you asked for but wanted to offer support for your effort.
I stopped smoking and started running so I should imagine the same thing will be noticed.
Packed in all most ten years ago , smoked from 12 and was on about 50-60 roll ups a day if the doctors smoking meter was to be believed. I had no doubt it was probably correct.
My first real problem after stopping was a bad chest infection which lasted about a month, it was horrible and does happen when you stop taking in all those toxins in some cases .
Once over that I could hardly believe the difference in how I felt, more energy , my taste and smell changed and I decided to start running to help loose some weight .
It felt like a massive improvement each month but I was coming from totally unfit , after six to eight months I ran a 10k race .
From that point on smoking was a distant memory and a very bad one.
I feel sure that you will notice a big difference packing in the weed and I wish you luck in kicking the nicotine habit, you won't realise the full effect of not smoking until you do though , once the nicotine has gone you feel so calm and rested . Smoking is one stressful thing and you don't realise until you kick it.
Anyway GO FOR IT!! it will do you the world of good .....

 

[sutts]

I didn't pack up smoking after starting cycling, so can't answer your question. I started cycling 2.5 years ago, but gave up smoking 15 years ago. I was on 50+ a day, I was pale, drawn, unfit and would probably be dead now, if I had continued. I think I confused 'pleasure' with the 'release of a craving' and they aren't exactly the same thing! Smoking wasn't pleasurable at all, it was just the constant relief from the pain of the craving, that's all it was. I broke the chain, my proudest ever achievement really... but each to their own, I couldn't care less what others do.

It has affected me though. I don't have the lung power to keep up with other cyclists, it's just not there at the top end, well not for long, but my skin is pink and the pleasures in life are at least real pleasures...even if they are sitting on a bike for hours on end!

 

[themosquitoking]

l've been cycling for around 7 years now and average 15 to 20 miles 3 to 4 days a week.
I have smoked since I was 15 and l'm 57 now and trying to pack up so I've got one of those e-cigs, been on it for a week now and up to now a cigarette hasn't bothered me..
Hope I can kick this bad habit as we all know it's not good for your health..
Anyway what l would like to ask is ....Did anyone smoke when they took up cycling and now pack in smoking, if there is anyone who has, can you tell me was there a improvement in you cycling performance and fitness.
Myself l was never short of breath , and l could do 16mph no problem so l'm hoping I can improve my cycling mph in the coming months...

I gave up smoking earlier this year and the breathing does get easier, but then the more you cycle the better you get anyway. Also hard to compare how you would be feeling on a particular day if you hadn't stopped to start with. I smoked before i got back into the cycling though.

 

[ray316]

Thanks for all the positive and helpful replys...
Like l say at the moment it's not bothering me but l'm just waiting to see if or when it does no how l respond to it..
Pity it's not summer as l could stay on the bike all day and forget about it..
Any tips off past smokers might help me .. Thanks

 

[puffinbilly]

I give up smoking about 5 years ago - before I started cycling again but the ability to climb hills is much improved - I have always been a keen climber and fell walker so was never slow but the recovery now on a bike is so much different.

The best tip on giving up that I received was to buy the audio book by Allen Carr - Easy Way to Stop Smoking - it really worked for me. You just listen to it while you're doing something else - walking, cycling, etc and keep smoking and then at the end just pack it in - worked for me and was certainly worth paying a few quid for.

 

[spiderman2]

+1 for Allen Carr - Easy Way to Stop Smoking.
Ive stopped now for 15 years

 

[earlestownflya]

smoking is a no no when it comes any form of exercise ,im a smoker..i feel the difference if i lay off them for a day.

 

[RichardB]

Anther +1 for Allen Carr. I bought the book and read about a quarter of it, and then stopped smoking. I don't think you need to read the whole thing, as it's just one simple idea, and once you've got it, you've got it. Stopped immediately, and that was almost 9 years ago. Best thing I ever did.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Like @Cunobelin , I was bedridden for two weeks with the influenza, lost my taste for cigarettes, and they taxed cigarettes heavily just about that time (1981), so I quit.

 

[Gravity Aided]

I was just a utility cyclist at the time, have no idea whether this affected my performance or not. No computer on the Raleigh DL-1.

 

[OskarTennisChampion]

Cycling for 23 years,and have smoked for 20 of those strangely enough.
I smoke between 15/20 a day,and I have had no ill effects.Not a boast,just have not lost any abilities that I have had since '92.I actually do more trail mileage than ever,10+ more miles a week.
Guy I ride with can't believe it,and thinks I must have good physiology.
Not trying to encourage you back to them incidentally.

 

[ray316]

Cycling for 23 years,and have smoked for 20 of those strangely enough.
I smoke between 15/20 a day,and I have had no ill effects.Not a boast,just have not lost any abilities that I have had since '92.I actually do more trail mileage than ever,10+ more miles a week.
Guy I ride with can't believe it,and thinks I must have good physiology.
Not trying to encourage you back to them incidentally.

You could be describing me there, though l only smoked around 10 lights a day, but l want to pack up as we all know it's no good for your health and even though I felt alright now smoking and no affects while excise/cycling it could catch up with me in later years...

 

[tyred]

I used to think the same. No obvious ill effects from smoking, never sick,able to maintain a decent amount of physical activity without problems etc.

But now that I've stopped there is simply no comparison. I feel so much better in so many unexpected ways.