Smoking on the downtube - Five Boro
 

:D

I did the five boro last sunday with my girlfriend. On several occasions, I broke out the cigarette while on my bike. You should have seen the reactions I got from people on this, I was very surprised.

One Marshall actually came over and asked me to butt out, giving me this incredulous look. Yeah right! Not even worth a reaction.

A few passed by - breathing heavily, asking me how I could bike and have a cigarette at the same time (destroying my peaceful bike and smoke moment).

While taking a "washroom" break through central park, some people asked my girlfriend why I smoke and bike at the same time.

These people thought this to be so incredible, and reacted like this was outrageous! What's up with that?

Seeing people on bikes with cigarettes and cell phones is common in Europe, South America and even some Caribbean countries. Once, while I was in Amsterdam, I witnessed this old man on a old singlespeed, smoking a cigarette, talking on the phone, and he had a cup holder attached to his bike with a beer in it, he was biking freehand (not entirely sure whether it was a cigarette in his hand either).

BTW, the downtube passed my test with flying colours. I was very impressed with the bike. I hope it works but here is a pic...

Tour de france
 

An early poster depicting the tour de france shows riders biking and smoking.IT SEEMS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE TO DO SO BUT YOU ARE PERFECTLY FREE TO SMOKE AND RIDE.This is after all America and you are not hurting anyone else.

No pic...

And while it is your lungs and your business, you're not going to get much sympathy from me if people pester you for lighting up whilst on a bike. ;)

It is actually a pretty bad plan though, since cycling can dry out your respiratory system and cause what is known as "exercise-induced asthma." I'm fairly sure smoking would aggravate this. Then again, it's also the 5 Boro Bike Walk, so it's not like you're actually exercising....

Damn... how do I make pics below 100MBs again...

JAMES: Wish I had THAT poster with me!

BAC: Not looking for sympathy... maybe a little bit of help in terms off understanding why it was such an outrageous thing for some people...

The tour was such an enjoyable experience, the smoking police not withstanding.

I agree with you, they should rename it bike walk and stand tour. I could not believe how long some of those bottlenecks were.

I will try to shrink the pics and post it later...

Smoking and riding isn't that uncommon, especially for some of the Chinese deliverymen and messengers I see everywhere.

I did the 5-Boro on my Speed TR, and I saw a couple of people smoking and riding. I thought it was something to laugh about, not get angry about.

And I have to say, other than the bottleneck at the very beginning of the ride, right before Central Park, and waiting for the ferry back to Battery Park, I was impressed at how much I was able to keep moving. (But they should do a route that sticks to the streets and goes around Central Park, because that one bottleneck was hugely long and annoying.)

My guesses are: Some people just like to tell other people what to do, some like to feel superior to others, some people really are that sensitive to smoke, and it kind of conflicts with the idea of a "healthy day out with the family" vibe.

Besides, this is the US, not Paris. We don't smoke in the airports and restaurants here. ;)

That's not true. I moved from CA (no smoking anywhere - except in your car in a traffic jam :-) to TX where they ask you if you want smoking at restaurants.

I'm afraid the "health-police" have convinced the non-smokers that if they can smell smoke they are going to die. I'm an ex (pipe) smoker. I greatly miss it, but admit I don't suffer so many colds and coughs as I did. Now to the story....

In 1983 I ran my first marathon. I'm not a naturally gifted runner but I get there in the end. That meant my running time was a little under 5 hours. At the finish line I was very grateful to meet my wife with my pipe and baccie. That was one of my most memorable smokes!!

Cheers

I hate smoking it is a nasty habit.I want my woman freind to quit.However the impulse of government to control our lives to a greater and greater degree is disturbing the anti smoking Totalitarians are going too far.This is America if you want to smoke you should be able to .Unless cigarettes are made illegal. Please do not blow smoke in my face.(I do not think cigarettes will be outlawed.Our Government is addicted to the revenue)

Smokers shouldn't be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their smokers.

I heard that in a movie once. Or something like it.

I used to smoke. And I used to do a lot of those supported charity rides, and every once in a while at a rest stop I'd go off to the side somewhere and start smoking. This caused no small amount of consternation from some people. Dirty looks, a stern scolding once, a 'how can you smoke and ride?'. Some people were just genuinely confused... as though once you have a cigarette, you're somehow crippled. They don't make life any better in any way, and they are horrible for you, but it's not as though your entire body completely shuts down at that moment. And some of the charity rides were for cancer, so there was a bit of ugly irony on my part, but then I would usually go smoke where no one could see me.

Doing anything athletic while smoking is a seeming paradox that some people cannot process.

I've seen images of gentlemen on Penny-Farthings smoking a pipe. But I can't afford a Penny-Farthing :).

I've also seen a "Heart and Stroke Foundation" bake sale with terribly good things that are very very bad for your heart and veins.

Coworkers are shocked that I smoke a pipe. After all I bike so I must be a health freak. Ha! Yes... because the bus exhaust is sooo good for me :).

Hey,

I smoke the occasional stogie and while I don't like inhaling other's cigarette smoke, as long as you are not being rude about it I don't see any problem. Don't concern yourself and ride/smoke on,

Juan

The thing I object to about smokers outside is they way they throw their butts just anywhere. If I'd seen you smoking while riding, I wouldn't have said a thing. If I'd seen you tossing your butts on the road, I probably would have. Since you don't say anything to the contrary, I'll assume that you had some way of carrying your trash until you had a chance to dispose of it properly. ;) I'll give you a break on the ash.

Of course, it really annoys me to see people throwing their cigarette butts out of car windows, when I know they must have perfectly good ashtrays.

Throwing out butts depends on circumstances. When done with a cigar, in the end, it's just a dried leaf. Not sure about cigarettes, there is some paper there.

I have no qualms throwing out apple cores in the country. In a city litter is litter, organic or not. But on a ride out in the country I don't see a problem.

The paper label of cigars will take very long to decompose. And most cigarettes come with a filter that also takes forever to decompose.

I read the summary of a study, where they measured the air composition inside a car in traffic, at the right side of the road, where most bicyclists would ride/breath, and on the sidewalk where pedestrians would walk/breath. The outcome was, that inside the car(s) was the highest exhaust concentration of the three, then came the bicycle and the cleanest/best was on the sidewalk. Just saying.

To the OP: I personally don't like the smell of cigarette smoke. So had I ridden the five boro ride, I'd stay away from you as long as you smoked. Since I heard that the ride was crowded, I can understand that people would be annoyed if you smoked around them (e.g. while waiting in a crowd until a "bottleneck" cleared up). If, however, (and it sounds like you did) you stepped away from the crowd for smoking or you smoked while the "filed" was not dense so people did not have to be next to you, I don't understand why they complained. In that case IMHO you can smoke as much as you want.

If you've ever picked up trash outdoors in a public area, you know that cigarette butts do last, and accumulate. Nasty things.

If I'm eating outside, I don't worry about the crumbs, of course. I wouldn't throw things like apple cores just anywhere, though. Yes, they'll rot or be eaten soon enough, but enough people doing this kind of thing in an area makes things unpleasant for those who live there. City people often seem to have odd ideas about just what constitutes "the country". It sometimes seems to include small towns with a lot of trees, like the one where I live. :) We can't help creating trash, but it doesn't hurt to take a little trouble over how we dispose of it.

Agreed. However it's good manners to take the label off so as not to show off the cigar you're smoking. As such the label is in the pocket before I start to puff.

How could/would I know.... :)

I think if someone is so addicted they cannot stop smoking or simply do not want to, they are better off rolling their own with bulk tobacco.Cigarettes have so many added chemicals in them to treat the tobacco that it boggles the mind.

I don't think it's a smart move, but I'd never say anything to your face. I might chuckle when I saw you riding though. (I also chuckle when I see someone using a cell phone while biking).

I've done that on a few occasions. Although I try not to and will usually find a spot to stop riding if I need to answer my phone,

Juan

What do you guys suppose the easiest tobacco product to smoke while riding is? Cigar? Cigarette? Quarter bent pipe? Half bent pipe?

Haha... don't smoke cigarettes. Tried a cigarello on a bike and didn't enjoy either activity fully.

I like to sit and do low key activities when enjoying a cigar or a pipe. Don't like even walking my dogs and smoking at the same time.

I tried cycling with a whistle once: at times it was difficult to go uphill with it in my mouth. So I imagine trying to ride with a pipe would be a bigger challenge. And it would go out all the time (maybe because of my lack of skill with it?).

Downhills are no better because of the wind.

I'm not sure about the gentlemen smoking pipe on their penny farthings in days past, but I think that was just for kicks :).

While I do enjoy the occasional cigar, I have never and probably will never mix it with riding. It's a whole different activity! :) But I'm not going to pass judgement on anyone else's choices. As long as you're being respectful to others, knock yourself out!

Juan

I used to smoke, gave it up 20 years ago. Someone once told me it's no pleasure smoking in pitch darkness, because you can't see the exhalation. I tried it and to my surprise it was true!

So smoking on a bike for that reason may also be not quite as enjoyable as in an easy chair - the wind would tend to blow the exhalation away.