Le Tour is good for all of us
Posted on 08. Jul, 2010 by KFullerF4 in Thoughts
Banff Bike Festival, June 2009
The three weeks of the Tour de France are wonderful for most of us cyclists. Wonderful to watch, follow, speculate on and be inspired by. But they are also good weeks for us cyclists because the world around us suddenly wakes up to cycling.
For three weeks, professional cycling creeps into the mainstream media via the Tour in ways no other cycling event in any discipline has been able to accomplish. For three weeks, people stop looking at our bizarre tan lines with perplexed, sideways glances and concealed chuckles. For three weeks, friends, family and coworkers are suddenly interested in our chosen sport and perhaps even impressed, if ill-informed. (Raise your hand if someone has asked you if you could compete in the Tour.)
During the Tour, non-cyclists glimpse our world and begin, somewhat, to understand. The outfits make a little more sense and the bikes look flashy and cool even to non-cyclists. For a fleeting moment, we become normal. I realize that perhaps that’s not the goal, but we ought to take advantage of the brief spotlight to seek support and draw in the people we know. Get a friend to dust off their old bike and go for a ride. Hit up businesses to support a local race. Smile at every cyclist you see and encourage them to keep it up.
Where I work:
 |
The International Mountain Bicycling Association is a non-profit educational association whose mission is to create, enhance and preserve great trail experiences for mountain bikers worldwide. Since 1988, IMBA has been bringing out the best in mountain biking by encouraging low-impact riding, volunteer trailwork participation, cooperation among different trail user groups, grassroots advocacy and innovative trail management solutions.
