yoga, bikes and smoking

i've started taking yoga, and i like it a lot. it's almost bicycle season, which excites me to no end. i think it's really time to give the old college try to kicking the smokes, although i never went to college and there's a camel blue resting on the ashtray as i type this.

yoga is one of those rare athletic endeavors that i not only enjoy, but also gives me a group of aftereffects that i can only describe as spiritual fulfillment, achievement and drive to improve. i also want to continue, which is the rarest effect a physical activity has ever had on me. i lifted weights, but i hated doing it. i swam, but never enjoyed it. i ran and nearly cut my feet off to avoid it. but yoga... seems to be giving me harmony i've scarcely known, and often sought.

temperatures are ebbing up toward the low fifties, and a week of fifty degree days (seven consecutive) marks the start of my bike commuting season. it's a time of year that offers me freedom, fitness, and unparalleled learning opportunities about the streets and paths of our sweet home: chicago. my plan this year is to ride the trek hybrid and slowly convert the eighties era univega (stem shift) to a single speed. i've been studying online and it seems doable with minimal expense and an acceptable learning curve. we'll see.

smoking. it's not healthy, it's expensive, it's smelly, on and on ad nauseam; i get it. my mother, strangers, exes, everyone who has an opinion has been telling me longer than i care to think about that i oughta quit. but none of that counts for squat unless i want to quit, trust me. but now i think i want to. yoga is helping me realize that i'm holding my body back from it's potential, and that is something i really won't tolerate. so that's my go at that. i just need a kick start to get going.

any ideas?