Originally Posted by dirtsk8

I wanted to stop for years and despite several attempts, I always failed miserably. Then I joined my local mountainbike forum and we all agreed on a meetup a few weeks down the line. We all did the usual talking-yourself-up stuff that happens before the actual event and when the big day arrived, I went to the meet and was met by what can only be described as a bunch of finely-tuned athletes, all thin as whippets and twice as fit. Back then I was smoking about 40 to 50 roll-ups per day - usually a packet of papers between waking and going to bed. 7 days a week.

Well, all my big-up talking came back to bite me in the as$ as they had to wait for me every mile or so. To say I was embarassed is to understate it by lightyears. I decided there and then to stop smoking and I've not had even a single puff since. That was February 2007 and I'm still going strong. I get the urge now and then, but it's so worth it. Now, I'm by no means first in the pack, but at least I keep up with the whippets easily.

When I think of it, I'm very annoyed with myself for not quitting sooner. I started smoking at age 13 and stopped at age 38. What a waste of everything.