# Mario smoking



## zoikz (Sep 5, 2003)

Maybe you've seen this before, but I haven't. That man was all together a different animal.


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## LostViking (Jul 18, 2008)

LOL - Why am I not surprised? Having a smoke while in the white Jersey of Paris-Tours - say what you like, he had his own style that one!


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## Dan Gerous (Mar 28, 2005)

Well, here's Brad Wiggins...


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## Oxtox (Aug 16, 2006)

smoking makes you look very sophisticated.

light up, kiddies.


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## LostViking (Jul 18, 2008)

The way Wiggo is holding that makes me think it's not just a Marlboro!


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## T K (Feb 11, 2009)

It's a Euro thing. I would love to go to Europe but that is one thing that would drive me nuts everybody smokes all the time everywhere.


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## LostViking (Jul 18, 2008)

I quit many years back, but the only time I saw somebody hold a smokeing object like that in Europe was when the tobacco was "funny". 

TK - Too true - lots of smoking going on there - stay out of doors as much as possible - like Cippo!.


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)




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## JasonB176 (Aug 18, 2011)

T K said:


> It's a Euro thing. I would love to go to Europe but that is one thing that would drive me nuts everybody smokes all the time everywhere.


I know Europeans in general do but do serious cyclists really smoke tobacco over there?


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)




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## saird (Aug 19, 2008)

JasonB176 said:


> I know Europeans in general do but do serious cyclists really smoke tobacco over there?


Nope.


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## Z6_esb (Feb 16, 2012)

Italy has a ban on smoking in restaurants


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## roddjbrown (Jan 19, 2012)

Z6_esb said:


> Italy has a ban on smoking in restaurants


Most of the EU no longer allows smoking indoors excluding private property. I do slightly object to people who admit they've never been to Europe and then make sweeping generalisations about it


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## Z6_esb (Feb 16, 2012)

roddjbrown said:


> Most of the EU no longer allows smoking indoors excluding private property. I do slightly object to people who admit they've never been to Europe and then make sweeping generalisations about it


I was disappointed (smoked at the time) when I went to Italy my first time and couldn't enjoy an espresso with a cig in the morning. Whatever...I drank some wine and soon forgot that I was disappointed, got drunk, and smoked more. I quit smoking 5 years ago; I don't physically crave them anymore but I miss them.


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## JSR (Feb 27, 2006)

roddjbrown said:


> Most of the EU no longer allows smoking indoors excluding private property.


Yeah, it's changed quite a bit in the recent past. Even in France!

JSR


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## CleavesF (Dec 31, 2007)

Creakyknees said:


>


This is totally not Italian. 

First, they're using Shimano. 

Second, they're using ULTEGRA. 

Mario you are brooooooookkk3.


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

roddjbrown said:


> Most of the EU no longer allows smoking indoors excluding private property. I do slightly object to people who admit they've never been to Europe and then make sweeping generalisations about it


Europeans love cigarettes and hair gel.

I've been to Europe so my sweeping generalizations are legit...


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## Z6_esb (Feb 16, 2012)

foto said:


> Europeans love cigarettes and hair gel.
> 
> I've been to Europe so my sweeping generalizations are legit...


and their pants are always just a little too tight


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

LostViking said:


> I quit many years back, but the only time I saw somebody hold a smokeing object like that in Europe was when the tobacco was "funny".
> 
> TK - Too true - lots of smoking going on there - stay out of doors as much as possible - like Cippo!.


Every Nazi in American WWII movies holds his cigarette like that.

"Jah, vee know who you are, and vee have our methods for making you talk!"

see minute 1:25


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

apparently wiggo employs "the chap"


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## roddjbrown (Jan 19, 2012)

foto said:


> Europeans love cigarettes and hair gel.
> 
> I've been to Europe so my sweeping generalizations are legit...


Ha, I've been to America and it suddenly occurred to me that there are places you can smoke indoors. Meaning the original point is not only a generalisation, it's plain wrong.

I'm not going to America anymore because I don't like stetsons


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## brady1 (Aug 18, 2011)

I'm an American who has been to Europe a few times. 

THIS is the main difference between Europeans and Americans...


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

JasonB176 said:


> I know Europeans in general do but do serious cyclists really smoke tobacco over there?


I have a good buddy who got to race at a late season pro race in the islands (Curacao?). He saw George Hincapie and Henk Vogels among others smoking at a cafe one evening after one of the stages. I'm sure they don't smoke as a habit though.


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## LuckyB (Sep 9, 2012)

Dan Gerous said:


> Well, here's Brad Wiggins...


Hold it....HOLD IT....cough! You got to cough to get off.


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## Dave Cutter (Sep 26, 2012)

davidka said:


> I have a good buddy who ........... saw George Hincapie and Henk Vogels among.... smoking at a cafe one evening after one of the stages. *I'm sure they don't smoke as a habit though*.


As a former smoker I can assure you... *if they were smoking... it's a habit*. Smoking is the most addictive crap I ever touched.... and I've touched a LOT.


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## David Loving (Jun 13, 2008)

Dave Cutter said:


> As a former smoker I can assure you... *if they were smoking... it's a habit*. Smoking is the most addictive crap I ever touched.... and I've touched a LOT.


That's right! I quit in 1988 and that was the hardest thing I ever did - I still miss them, too.


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

I recall being a bit shocked to see Petra Rossner smoking the night before Philly one time. Didn't seem to slow her down much as she won the next day.


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## FlandersFields (Jul 16, 2010)

JasonB176 said:


> I know Europeans in general do but do serious cyclists really smoke tobacco over there?



:mad2:


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## american psycho (Jul 21, 2005)

*Relax, this might hurt a bit...*

This guy is living right!

View attachment 267262


And even Switzerland (not EU, but Europe, and the last bastion of tobacco addict rule) now prohibits smoking in public places.


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## Dave Cutter (Sep 26, 2012)

32and3cross said:


> I recall being a bit shocked to see Petra Rossner smoking the night before Philly one time. Didn't seem to slow her down much as she won the next day.


Maybe pros are just average people... with great desire and/or ambition. Or maybe they are also physically gifted as well... I don't know. But the cigarettes can take a little while to do their damage on healthy young lungs. However.... because they are so highly addictive not everyone gets away from the habit before damage is done. 

The body is an amazing machine. After 35 years of smoking I was certain I would never breath freely again. I had accepted the idea that my lungs would continue to hold me back when cycling. Improvement did come however after lots of cycling over more than a couple years. Now I am proud to say... it's my legs that are holding me back [_just like almost everyone else_].


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## Danimal (Jan 4, 2005)

Dave Cutter said:


> As a former smoker I can assure you... *if they were smoking... it's a habit*. Smoking is the most addictive crap I ever touched.... and I've touched a LOT.


I love cigarettes. That said; I maybe smoke 3 or 4 cigarettes a year on average. I haven't had any this year.

It is possible to have self control, you know.

Dan


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

Danimal said:


> I love cigarettes. That said; I maybe smoke 3 or 4 cigarettes a year on average. I haven't had any this year.
> 
> It is possible to have self control, you know.
> 
> Dan


I kinda feel the same way - I smoked through out collage (as well as other things) and after at some point I decided I wasn't interested and stopped. I think it affects different people in different ways. I liked the act of smoking and the sensations - the smell however is disgusting and I hate smelling it.


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## Dave Cutter (Sep 26, 2012)

Danimal said:


> I love cigarettes. That said; I maybe smoke 3 or 4 cigarettes a year on average. I haven't had any this year. It is possible to have self control, you know.
> Dan


*You are so right Dan!* I knew a woman that flirted with the cigarette addiction like that for over 20 years... before she got hooked. I have also read of people smoking crack... on just weekends... at least for a period of time. *Best of luck with your self control. *

I [also] exercise self control every day of my life.... and always have. That doesn't mean I have always made good decisions. Smoking was without reservation the single worst decision I have made so far.


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## Danimal (Jan 4, 2005)

Cool, I'll let you know when I become addicted to crack and cigarettes. _*Thanks for the heads-up*_. You know so much more about life than everyone here! Save us!

Dan


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## Dave Cutter (Sep 26, 2012)

Danimal said:


> ...... You know so much more about life than everyone here! Save us!
> Dan


Wow! A little testy huh? So you go right into insulting me? Maybe you should just relax... take a smoke break.

I hadn't thought of myself as being so knowledgeable. I thought that everyone (over maybe age 13) knew cigarettes were addictive. *Sorry that my post got you so upset.*


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

I think what Danimal is saying is that cigarettes aren't addictive if you don't smoke them.

Same with heroin.

Seriously though Danimal, you say you love cigarettes, but do you really? I mean really love them? .


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## Danimal (Jan 4, 2005)

Dave Cutter said:


> Wow! A little testy huh? So you go right into insulting me? Maybe you should just relax... take a smoke break.
> 
> I hadn't thought of myself as being so knowledgeable. I thought that everyone (over maybe age 13) knew cigarettes were addictive. *Sorry that my post got you so upset.*


It's hard to read someone's tone in a forum; my tone is generally sarcastic. I also occasionally like stirring the proverbial pot, but I wasn't upset when making my post. That said, my post was inappropriate.



foto said:


> I think what Danimal is saying is that cigarettes aren't addictive if you don't smoke them.
> 
> Same with heroin.
> 
> Seriously though Danimal, you say you love cigarettes, but do you really? I mean really love them? .


I suppose love is a strong word. I like the way a cigarette tastes and makes me feel when in the right mood (which may or may not be influenced by booze :blush2. However, I am generally grossed out by the way old cigarette smoke, clothes, breath, etc smells.

Cigarettes don't fit in to my life or lifestyle, except for about 3 - 4 times a year. 

Dan


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## wesb321 (Oct 1, 2011)

I started smoking when I was 13. Now at 35 I am still puffing away and have quit several times.Honestly any more the harder I look at it with less work stress and rules saying I can't smoke I smoked far less in the past than I do currently. Now the price is ginormous and everywhere I go it is banned unless private property around here. If I stopped in 3 months time I could have a new Tarmac from the $$ I would save but that little voice in my head won't let me stop.. it's weird.

Why is it I can go on a 100 mile group ride and leave them at home forgetting they even exist but I can't go 15 min at work with out wishing I could have them? There are prescription drugs that have you quitting the first day, why aren't they marketing that at gas stations for 6 dollars a pop? Smoking doesn't make you a bad person it is just bad for your health.


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## rider9 (May 27, 2011)

All I can say is that I smoked for five years and it was one of the hardest things I've ever done to quit. That was over 30 years ago. I do not crave cigarettes anymore.

An addiction is something that is very difficult to overcome.


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## Dave Cutter (Sep 26, 2012)

I don't have the answers on how to kick-the-habit. I think, feel, believe that people are multi-dimensional... and that an addiction is more than a medical condition. All addictions are difficult and I don't mean to rate cigarettes as “harder” problem than any of the others.

I tried for years to quit smoking. I finally got professional help. After trying all the latest pharmaceuticals my doctor sent me to a hypnotist (as a last chance). I also used nicotine mints, and did a little 12 step work [_I prayed for help_]. 

After I quit smoking I returned to cycling. I also gained weight. I continued to cycle and get fatter for 3 years. This past season I dropped 77 pounds to get to my (according to the charts) ideal weight. 

I still don't have solutions! For me it's been a journey. But I really like the part of the journey where I am thin and don't smoke... the best.


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## SFTifoso (Aug 17, 2011)

Creakyknees said:


>


I want to start my own women's cycling team.


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## Cinelli 82220 (Dec 2, 2010)

Mario's latest video for his new Bond bike shows him in incredible shape, and he can still ride like heck.

Whatever he is doing, works.


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## David Loving (Jun 13, 2008)

Years ago when trying to quit and Nicorette gum had just come out. I got some and begin chewing, and it worked OK, until I found myself lighting up and chewing nicorette at the same time. I'll never forget it. Freshly lit Marlboro and I realize, "Hey, I'm chewing that gum."


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## ProEdgeBiker (Jul 8, 2008)

Dan Gerous said:


> Well, here's Brad Wiggins...


Chasin' the Dragon Wiggy


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## wesb321 (Oct 1, 2011)

Cinelli 82220 said:


> Mario's latest video for his new Bond bike shows him in incredible shape, and he can still ride like heck.
> 
> Whatever he is doing, works.




He trained for the 2012 Giro full on until they told him no days before the start.


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## jorgy (Oct 21, 2005)

Z6_esb said:


> Italy has a ban on smoking in restaurants


So does France. But that doesn't stop people from smoking at the sidewalk tables.

Which is just great when you want to sit outside, and simply delightful when the weather is nice enough for the folding doors to be opened up and the smoke from outdoors wafts inside.


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## jorgy (Oct 21, 2005)

roddjbrown said:


> Ha, I've been to America and it suddenly occurred to me that there are places you can smoke indoors. Meaning the original point is not only a generalisation, it's plain wrong.
> 
> I'm not going to America anymore because I don't like stetsons


Two years ago you could still smoke indoors in restaurants in Texas. I was shocked because I hadn't seen that in years. There would be a smoking section, but it wasn't separate from the rest of the restaurant so the whole place ended up a de facto smoking section.


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## Oxtox (Aug 16, 2006)

jorgy said:


> Two years ago you could still smoke indoors in restaurants in Texas. I was shocked because I hadn't seen that in years. There would be a smoking section, but it wasn't separate from the rest of the restaurant so the whole place ended up a de facto smoking section.


well, not everywhere in TX...Austin's had a smoking ordinance since 2005.


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## c_h_i_n_a_m_a_n (Mar 3, 2012)

When you ride a motorbike and smoke at the same time, your cigarette do burn up a bit quicker.

That was before I gave it up. _Thereafter I got into cycling._


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## ph123 (Oct 25, 2012)

In Denmark it is not forbidden to smoke in restaurants, public buidlings etc. 

The only places left are your private home and outside...


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## Nickk (Oct 24, 2011)

jorgy said:


> Two years ago you could still smoke indoors in restaurants in Texas. I was shocked because I hadn't seen that in years. There would be a smoking section, but it wasn't separate from the rest of the restaurant so the whole place ended up a de facto smoking section.


to quote George Carlin, "That's like a non-peeing section of a pool".


I smoked a lot for a long time, I had heard that it wasn't that uncommon for cycle racers to smoke back in the 80s. I'd surprised that racers would these days, too much money riding on endorsement money.


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## vismitananda (Jan 16, 2011)

In the city where I live, once you are caught smoking in public places. You'll spent 24hrs behind bars as a warning.

IMHO. Tobacco doesn't have any good benefits, it only takes 3 min. of your precious life per stick.
It couldn't stop anyway, coz these firms are paying too much high taxes.


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## LostViking (Jul 18, 2008)

I like the fact that Mario marches to a different drummer, like him or hate him, he has personality and can be very outspoken.

This is what I liked about Cav as well - he toned it down a bit while World Champ - but I hope he returns to form next season and launches more verbal missels as well as cycling ones.


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## DZfan14 (Jul 6, 2009)

I live in Germany. They definitely smoke more here and smoke a lot. I work in a building with about 50/50 Germans and Americans. The Americans aren't the ones taking a smoke break in the parking lot every hour.

Even the young people are into it. A friend of mine plays for a local club soccer team. The Germans will smoke before the game, and at the half. 


When I moved here a few years ago it was hard to get used to, but even when you go to a restaurant and eat outside you'll get bombarded with second hand smoke.


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## wesb321 (Oct 1, 2011)

dzfan14 said:


> when i moved here a few years ago it was hard to get used to, but even when you go to a restaurant and eat outside you'll get bombarded with second hand smoke.





htfu!


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## LostViking (Jul 18, 2008)

wesb321 said:


> htfu!


I would, if I could just stop coughing!


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## LostViking (Jul 18, 2008)

wesb321 said:


> htfu!


I would, if I could just stop coughing!


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## wesb321 (Oct 1, 2011)

LostViking said:


> I would, if I could just stop coughing!


Ha!:thumbsup:


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