One year of riding

[deepakvrao]

Did I hear someone thinking of a LHT?

[vishakrs]

Excellent write up. Congrats and wishing you many more "Biking anniverseries".

[vkalia]

Great write-up and congrats on the cycling addiction, Abhijit!

[prabuddhadg]

A great read, Abhijit! Enjoyed your observations too. Nice to know of your lifestyle change too. BTW cycling has helped me give up smoking completely.

[toxicdrift]

awesome hte, will take ur advise fo sure! i needta be more regular with my rides aswell! needed the motivation hahaha now where's my orbea

[airfoil]

Inspiring read, Abhijit. Congratulations!

[cryptic_abbreviator]

BTW cycling has helped me give up smoking completely.

+1. that particular thread actually.

ciao
gr

[MuggyMach3]

very good write-up Abhi. keep gaining miles and losing weight

+1. that particular thread actually.

which one? haven't really decided to quit yet but when (if) i do i could use some nudging

[TribalBoy]

Congrats. Beautifully written. Loved the post.

An inspiration for the new gen BZers for sure.

[cryptic_abbreviator]

which one? haven't really decided to quit yet but when (if) i do i could use some nudging

Nudge

ciao
gr

[MuggyMach3]

which one? haven't really decided to quit yet but when (if) i do i could use some nudging

Nudge

ciao
gr

thanx

wow! five pages of gyan. i got motivated to step out for a smoke. lol. added it to my favorites though for the aforementioned when(if) decision

[daveiscool]

Congrats, very inspiring , keep munching those miles

[prabuddhadg]

Hey that thread reminded me that I have now been off cigarettes for nearly two years now. That was a useful thread indeed.

[Grimpeur]

which one? haven't really decided to quit yet but when (if) i do i could use some nudging

Nudge

ciao
gr

Wow. Surprising to know that so many out here were smokers once. And people getting back to the habit even after 4 year breaks.

Me kicked the butt an year ago. Threads like these will definitely keep me from going back.

[bubbu64]

A good self assessment and tremendous improvement
However
I note two negative points.
1. Still smoking. Now whether its 1 cigi or 30 cigi , bottomline the effect felt on the body is the same. If your into a fitness regime and want to be fit then STOP SMOKING. No amount of excuse will do good to justify your smoking habit. There are still many ways to get rid of Stress, Tension, Lethargy etc etc.
2. Still drinking if your are??. Again the same message as above.
Bottomline stop them immediately else the whole purpose of cycling is totally ineffective and useless. I had thought that most cyclists here would be those who have now started to STOP smoking and drinking.
Nevertheless a inspiration message
Goodluck

[bubbu64]

which one? haven't really decided to quit yet but when (if) i do i could use some nudging

Nudge

ciao
gr

thanx

wow! five pages of gyan. i got motivated to step out for a smoke. lol. added it to my favorites though for the aforementioned when(if) decision

I used to smoke almost 100 cigs a day about 5 years back before I started marathon running. It took me exactly 2 secs to make that decision to stop smoking and throw the entire cig carton into the bin. Thats it. Trying to slow down the nos is just useless. The same with drinking. All it needs is a firm self determination and a commitment.

Edit: I stopped eating oil cooked stuff and anything to do with oil. No ghee, no salt, no sugar, no spicy stuff and no crap junk food. All veggies are eaten boiled and I have also stopped eating too much rice. I am a lot more healthier now than before. Previously I weighed 93 kgs and now I am 60-60.5 kgs and have been the same weight category for the last 3 yrs so far. Touchwood. The sad part is till today I never got to taste the famous Hyderabadi Biryani. Too oily and spicy.

[Bent_gate]

Deep stuff man. And humbles me, some of the stuff you wrote about.

Cigs! I quit for six months since March this year, and I am back to them with vengeance. I have to give it another go. But the thing, is I enjoy those damn things. Almost like a terrible mistress, I can't keep away from.

[kadalpura]

Hi it sounds interesting. Keep going. Then at what state did you changed your bike.

[MuggyMach3]

Deep stuff man. And humbles me, some of the stuff you wrote about.

Cigs! I quit for six months since March this year, and I am back to them with vengeance. I have to give it another go. But the thing, is I enjoy those damn things. Almost like a terrible mistress, I can't keep away from.

the max i could manage was 4 months. i guess the major reason why i haven't quit is because smoking doesn't seem to have affected my fitness in any significant way. i took up cycling only recently but have been hiking/trekking/climbing for quite a few years and have also been smoking for as many years. i'm still able to do those activities without finding myself any more tired or breathless than before. i have never been a chain smoker though. its usually 3-5 a day

[krishnas]

2. Still drinking if your are??. Again the same message as above.
Bottomline stop them immediately else the whole purpose of cycling is totally ineffective and useless. I had thought that most cyclists here would be those who have now started to STOP smoking and drinking.
Nevertheless a inspiration message
Goodluck

Not that I advocate drinking or intend to induce more bikers to start boozing, but I disagree with you, Bubbu.
Equating drinking with smoking is incorrect..
Without going into the technical jig-a-thon, I know for sure, that moderate drinking is defintely NOT harmful.. atleast nothing in the scale of smoking.
Having said that, I know, alcohol has some amount of inverse relation with metabolism (apparently!!!), but personally, having a drink is something I dont intend to give up, however cycling addict I might get to be. I am not a pro-biker, nor intend to be, and my life does not hinge on a career on the bike.

Anyway, lets not delve too deep into smoking-drinking affecting biking.. and lets celebrate Abhijit's wonderful year on the bike.

[htedum]

Nice to read all the replies. About smoking, yes, I agree, I could stop completely, maybe I should. About drinking and food - no way Bubbu. I enjoy my biriyanis and whiskeys way too much. If it means that I'm 10 kgs more than my ideal weight, so be it.

@doc: Surly? Lol.. The Volpe was the original plan, so maybe the next bike should be steel and heavy and Brooks'ed. But not for another couple years at least. Let me try touring on the Snake and see what happens.

Cigs! I quit for six months since March this year, and I am back to them with vengeance. I have to give it another go. But the thing, is I enjoy those damn things. Almost like a terrible mistress, I can't keep away from.

Man, I don't know how you can smoke so much while you ride. I can never do that. I tried quitting cold turkey, didn't work (got back to it with a vengeance, like you say). Now I'm resigned to having a puff once in a while when I'm really jonesing. Worked well so far.

[Bent_gate]

A good self assessment and tremendous improvement
However
I note two negative points.
1. Still smoking. Now whether its 1 cigi or 30 cigi , bottomline the effect felt on the body is the same. If your into a fitness regime and want to be fit then STOP SMOKING. No amount of excuse will do good to justify your smoking habit. There are still many ways to get rid of Stress, Tension, Lethargy etc etc.
2. Still drinking if your are??. Again the same message as above.
Bottomline stop them immediately else the whole purpose of cycling is totally ineffective and useless. I had thought that most cyclists here would be those who have now started to STOP smoking and drinking.
Nevertheless a inspiration message
Goodluck

(Psst. He didn't tell you, but he s#@&s off too. And plenty of times since he started off on the cycle bit.)

[cryptic_abbreviator]

I tried quitting cold turkey, didn't work

No preachiness here. absolutely none.

CT is the only way. Anything else is dying between puffs - however few and far apart

And finally when I did quit it was easy.

I was trying to quit for over 10 years before I actually did. I realize now I could have stopped just as easily 10 years back or 26 years back for that matter.

ciao
gr

[htedum]

Gr - I have tried it, on more than one occasion. But when it's completely out of reach, it's all the more tempting. I've held off for two months, but when i finally start, I go back to my full habit. Now it's not so taboo that it's a temptation. I enjoy a good smoke now and then, but I also enjoy waking up in the morning without having to reach for my packet of Kings and a Baide.

[stalker]

I was trying to quit for over 10 years before I actually did. I realize now I could have stopped just as easily 10 years back or 26 years back for that matter.

ciao
gr

You sir, are ancient!