Slightspeed

I was on a grocery run this morning, driving along, and this kitted up, fit looking racer dude was working the traffic, on a racy new Trek. We both stopped at a light, and I was checking him out. He reaches into his pocket, I thought to grab an energy gel or something, and pulls out one of those e-cig vape things and starts blowing smoke. Unbelievable. I see derelict looking old dudes (I'm 70) on clunker mtn bikes with cigs hanging out if their mouth, but this racer looking dude? It just looked wrong. Not to be too judgemental, 😉, the guy could probably kick my butt on the bike, but an e-cig, really? Strange times we live in.

Cogs, not cigs.

bakerjw

I've seen professional athletes that smoke. I wonder if he started vaping or switched to it from smoking.

That's the thing. People are starting to vape rather than smoke tobacco and they still get addicted. I smoked for 15 years and finally kicked it and there is no way on God's green earth that I will allow myself to get addicted to nicotine ever again.

mercator

Are you sure it was tobacco?

Slightspeed

Don't know, not up to speed on e-cigs or anything else that smokes. Do Clif bars have a smoke option now?

Elvo

Could be a weed pen as well

t_e_r_r_y

vaping doesn't destroy your lungs like smoking, so maybe they made the switch to get away from smoke. and if it was thc, that makes a lot of sense. i myself enjoy a safety meeting before/during a long ride to help with any discomforts.

BlazingPedals

The jury is still out on vaping, because it hasn't been around long enough. Certainly the vaping suppliers will tell everyone it's safe; but that's what tobacco companies did for decades.

Vaping uses your lungs in a way they weren't designed for: delivering chemicals to your bloodstream. Even without smoke, I see the potential for problems.

t_e_r_r_y

i'm not saying it's "safe", per se, but not as harsh on your airbags as inhaling smoke. i know a few active people who got hooked on tobacco when they were younger and have switched to vaping to feed their addiction without coughing up a lung or needing to sit down and catch their breath every time they encounter a hill

wipekitty

My SO and I both used to be militant chain smokers, and we both found ecigs/vaping helpful for giving up cigarettes. It can certainly help with the psychological addiction that a lot of smokers have. There are also different strengths of 'juices', so one can slowly wean oneself off nicotine by vaping with gradually less nicotine. After a month of ecigs and no analog cigarettes, my lungs felt tidy and clean (no coughing up weird stuff after exercise.)

I no longer vape or smoke, but still use nicotine through other delivery methods. From time to time, I'm having nicotine while riding a fancy road bike in full kit.

I-Like-To-Bike

Not to be judgemental, really? Yeah sure, whatever you say; strange times indeed.

livedarklions

I know there was a meta-analysis of all the studies to date on vaping, and the only confirmed hazard was exploding batteries.

Nicotine itself is pretty benign stuff, albeit addictive. It's the other stuff in tobacco that kills.

DrIsotope

Cigarette companies want vaping banned because it's cutting into their customer base, and therefore their bottom line.

It's not smoke, so it's nowhere near as dangerous as a cigarette, unless the battery goes kablooey.

And as someone who grew up when smoking was outright commonplace, I'm 100% fine with all of the vape folks out there. I'll take strawberry waffles or pina colada or whatever smell is coming out of their vapor cloud over tobacco smoke, any day of the week.

Personally, I'll stick to my caffeine addiction. No need to add an addiction that requires special apparatus.

canklecat

I see that a lot in large groups of cyclists. It's usually CBD or THC, not nicotine vape. They'll take one or two puffs at most throughout a 2 hour or so ride. They aren't puffing constantly like addicted tobacco smokers.

I wouldn't use THC in a group ride because I prefer to be at 100%. However some of my riding acquaintances are combat vets with disabilities. They say with regular use you build up a tolerance to the psychoactive effects of THC but it continues to help with chronic and acute pain. They sure don't seem high so I'll take their word for it.

But I use oral CBD for pain -- oil from droppers or capsules. It has a tiny amount of THC, less than 0.5%, which works with the CBD to be more effective than the THC-free isolates. It's very effective, no side effects to my alertness and reflexes. But I don't vape because I'm extremely prone to asthma and bronchitis. I tried vaping CBD a few times last year when someone else offered and it tended to constrict my trachea.

General Geoff

Oxygen is a chemical.

spelger

one the lungs happened to be designed for. Strange that.

luevelvet

The lungs were designed to take in any chemical you breathe in and pass it to the bloodstream There’s no rule that’s says it’s only designed for oxygen. Nitrogen, CO2 etc are all part of the air we breathe and we take all of that in regardless of whether or not it’s bad for you.

livedarklions

There's actually a fair amount of data, and there's no evidence that those problems are real. I can see a potential problem with pretty much everything, that's meaningless.

AlmostTrick

Assuming his bike was made of asploding prone carbon fiber, adding the vape contraption means things could get fiery in a flash. I'd be sure stay clear!

ted_major

I always find it interesting to see how widespread that euphemism is. I first came across it doing construction work in Alabama during the ‘80s.

downhillmaster

Recreational bike riders in cycling gear occasionally vape.
That’s your barometer for strange times?

nomadmax 

I'm with you on this ^

I can remember when medical doctors said smoking cigarettes wouldn't harm you. Turns out they were REAL wrong.

medic75

I smoked for 30 years. I started when I was only 13 years old. I tried everything to quit, but was never able to actually do it. Gum, patches, Chantix, even acupuncture. The only thing that worked for me was e-cigarettes. I am sucking on one while I am typing this. No, they aren't safe (the user is putting a foreign substance into their body), but they are significantly safer than inhaling smoke from burning organic & synthetic materials. I feel worlds better and my lung function is better. My doctor is happy that I have given up smoking. FWIW, nicotine is no more dangerous than caffeine. The dangerous part of cigarettes is the thousands of toxins that are in the smoke. If you think of the nicotine as a medication (nicotine patches, gum, etc.), then I can confirm that e-cigarettes are probably one of the most effective delivery methods for someone who is trying to quit. Asthmatics use this delivery path regularly for their medications - which help them breathe. Yes, they put a foreign substance into their lungs to help them breathe.

With all of this being said, and the fact that I am a proponent of e-cigarettes, I am only a proponent to the point that it is a useful tool to help smokers quit cigarettes. If you don't smoke, don't start smoking or vaping. Finally, I always question the people who speak badly of e-cigarettes & ask them why they want to take a tool away from someone who could use it to quit smoking. It almost seems like they want people to keep smoking.

BTW, yes, I vape while riding my bikes.

bruce19

https://www.******.com/r/OldSchoolCo...ding_the_tour/

medic75

The same can said for energy gels. Our bodies weren’t designed to take simple processed carbohydrates in through our stomachs. Medications in general are not natural. Tell a diabetic that his body wasn’t designed to take insulin through a needle. Tell an asthmatic that his lungs weren't designed for a nebulized chemical that will stop his asthma attack. Nicotine administration via the buccal and dermal routes have been accepted for years even though neither route was intended for chemical administration. Nobody found fault with those because they couldn't see them. Unless you are a 100% natural person, you cannot single out any one item claiming that our bodies weren’t designed for it.

The issue with vaping is more of a social stigma that is associated with cigarette smoking than anything else. If we viewed vaping as a medication utilized by former smokers to stop smoking, we would embrace it. Instead, we grasp at straws, trying to find any reason we can to claim it is dangerous because we don't like it and we don't even know why we don't like it.

boozergut

Here vaping is combined into what I would call the hipster bundle. Vape, tattoos, big beard, pit bull.