If you really want to enjoy cycling, then smoking has to go. But that's a good thing, because cycling will keep you off the smokes. I quit 2 or 3 times and started up again, once after nearly 2 years - proper stupid. I then started MTB, and could not get up the smallest hill without wheezing, coughing and snorting like an asthmatic warthog. But the riding bug had bitten, and I hated not being able to keep up with people who were hopelessly unfit and out of shape. I also badly wanted to have a go at a stage race, and knew that I could not carry on smoking, and so I stopped. That was 4 years ago, and I think I am now safe. Use your cycling as your motivation. Set riding goals like doing really tough races or long distances or hectic climbs. The satisfaction you get from achieving these constantly reinforces the decision to stop smoking, and reduces the risk of relapse, or so it happened in my case. Good luck smokers, and its never too late to chuck the twakkies. To add to your motivation, remember that if you quit before you get a smoking related illness, you almost certainly will not get one. Don't leave this too late, or you will really learn the true meaning of regret.
