I started riding about a year plus ago myself. I too was a former smoker until then. My PCP had been after me to quit for years. I finally approached him about quitting. He hurriedly wrote me a script for Chantix. It was pricey but cheap compared to continuing to smoke. It worked for me!! The cycling was to counter not smoking and trying to undo some of the damage. I've come to realize that, when smoking, I tended to shallow breathe. Having quit and now cycling, I've had to "relearn" deep breathing and fully exhaling. It's helped tremendously. Whatever method you choose, try to quit. I'm 72 and it was one of my better decisions.

I too use Strava. I think of it as my personal motivator. I have a few benchmark routes that I go to frequently to get a better idea of progress. Best of luck. Keep riding.