Do I appear to be an idiot? I was not objecting to the banning in public places but the eventual next step of total criminalization that I believe chipcom referred to.

Having a smoking section indoors is like having a peeing section at the public pool.

... And sitting in a room full of beer drinkers doesn't make you stink, and the alcohol only directly affects the actual user.

+1 - and in OHIO!!!????

Cmon, chip - admit it, the guy was 1-legged and 80 years old, with an oxygen pack in his jersey pocket.

That said, this is OHIO, not Colorado, and Akron isn't Chillecothe. Clearly, this guy is out of shape. He's probably just training for one of those indoor triathalons where you just spin. :)

I'm not a fan of smoking, but the image you paint of you puffing while Mr. Gassed Out drudges by is perfect! :D

Sorry Chippy. If I'm too tired to spin, I'm too tired to walk. And if I'm puking, I have bonked, and I ain't goin' nowhere till I recover. But you'd better believe I'll choose spinning cranks over trudging up a hill once I can stand up again.

The climbs in Colorado aren't that bad. I've ridden 5 weeklong tours there, each averaging about 400 miles with 30,000 feet of climbing, and I've never, ever, walked the bike. FWIW, I'm 54 years old, so age is no excuse.

Give up the cigs and maybe you'd have the lung power to get up and over...I quit 17 years ago and the difference in performance on the bike was substantial.

Cute!

I hate to offend any, but I'm glad they passed this law. Sure, you have a choice to go to any business you want, so from a consumer's point of view I don't really care about the smoking/non-smoking. But, the workers in those places have to inhale it day in day out. They shouldn't be subjected to toxic air. Also, changing jobs isn't that easy.

Try this one:
End of a 50 mile ride climbing a tall hill in 95F heat with 5% humidity while hauling a 35 lb 3 year old in a trailer. That one killed me. I think I had to walk the steepest portion of the hill.
However, being a proud father of a 3 year old who just went cycling all day for 50 mile overrode the pain.

So says the man from KANSAS! :D

No, it wasn't you. :p

But you, as I was, are acclimated to the altitude. Take a average lowlander cyclist up to 7000 feet then have him climb another 1500 at a 12% grade and your gonna see his lunch.

I didn't mean to offend you but I was confused by your statement which seemed to imply that smoking was made completely illegal. Rereading Chip's comment, I don't see how you came to your conclusion. I'm not quite sure why Chip said what he did either, other than maybe he's realizing that smoking directly affects more than just the smoker (care to comment Chip?). Anyway, I equate smoking indoors to be as rude as giving everyone around you a Dity Sanchez the entire time you are in their presence, plus following them home for the rest of the night :p

How long exactly did it take him to make up 1/4 mile? If you were going 18 mph and the gap was 1/4 mile to start, 100 yds at the finish thats 340 yards of ground covered to catch you. If he caught you over 10 miles, he was only going 18.3 mph, but if he caught you in 2 miles, he was going almost 20 mph. Depending on the distance covered and the average speed you were traveling, I find it hard to say that you burned the guy, but nevertheless, I'm sure it was gratifying to wave as he went by.

You did not offend me. I just have a raging headache and am quite short with my responses.
Anyhow, with the current anti smoking attitude in the US, criminalization is the eventual logical step. IMHO My point is that these types of responses are akin to our war on drug. I just don't think that criminalization of everything is the correct response. That is all. I offer no solutions. Merely commenting on the likely end result.
All in all, it really doesn't matter to me. I can not stand smoking.

I figure you're closer to the mark that you think...when do they have that big triathalon up in Mentor? Maybe his new year's resolution was to do the thing and he just started his training. I mean seriously, overdressed or not, I was not riding at a real fast pace and Riverview from Indian Mound to Peninsula is hardly a challenging ride.

It's roughly 7 miles from where we started to the double hill, with only one small hill in between. No, he was toast...one doesn't quit on a little hill like that unless they are toast. I figure it's because of all the damn clothes he was wearing more than anything else...he just plain overheated. If there is any usable moral to the story...you don't need to bundle up like Nanook of the North to ride in 30-40F temps.

WTF are we talking about? What did I say?

This story cracks me up. It reminds me of the shock I had after struggling to summit mount Rainier only to find a bunch of Canadian climbers on the summit having a smoke. I know a lot of people who do not seem to be hampered by smoking at all in terms of athletic endurance. I, on the other hand, become completely asthmatic when I am passed by a jeep kicking up dust. WIMP.

Ahh, don't worry about this guy 2 much chip.

He'll be pushing bikes up small hills long after your smoker lungs have decayed and rotted away.

=)

man, this story is just hilarious!
thanks for sharing

It isn't the rockies, but it's not all flat out here. I've pedalled up plenty of hills that would have sucked worse to walk up than to pedal. Maybe it's just the uber granniness of my MTB.

Nope...I live at 660 feet elevation.

Although folks do have different responses to elevation, I've ridden with plenty of other lowlanders who managed just fine on Colorado's passes over 10,000 feet (some up to 12,000 feet).

Back in '03 a bunch of us went to the summit of Mt. Evans (14,000+ feet) on the second day of our tour, and I didn't see anybody throwing up or walking their bikes. It was definitely tough above 12,000 feet, but a friend of mine who lives near Dallas made the summit riding a double chainring with flatlander gearing (the guy was about your age...not a smoker, of course).

You just have to stay hydrated, and gear down a bit (and not try to keep up with the locals until later in the week :D).

Tangent from post #10.
I should really keep my opinions to myself. Apparently banning everything is the PC thing to do.

When you finally quit altogether, you'll appreciate how unpleasant it is to run the gauntlet of smokers clustering right outside the door.