Ah, yes, the Tour de France. Cyclists ride at lightening speeds at great length. But those are bicycles and you ride a motorcycle. They both have two wheels and that’s where the resemblance ends, right? Actually, there’s quite a bit you can learn from the tour de France, even as a motorcycle rider. Here are a few items:more

Wear Protective Gear

Tour de France bike wrecks are never a good thing. They look like a train wreck with the bikes piling up upon each other from the high speed. Riders who want to stop and avoid it often can’t. But one thing is true through all of that…protective gear helps. And the protective gear isn’t just for accidents, but for safety and even comfort. Protective gear helps cyclists endure the long rides as easily as possible. If you learn one thing from the Tour de France, let it be that motorcycle riders should always wear protective gear.

Gloves Help Hand Numbness

You may wonder why the cyclists wear gloves when they ride. Isn’t it warm? Would you believe that bicyclists get hand numbness just like you do on your motorcycle? They don’t have the vibration issues you might deal with, but they ride their bikes for long periods of time and the nerves in their hands get compressed. The reason they wear gloves is to combat and prevent that numbness. It can work for motorcyclists too!

Conditioning is Important for Long Rides

If you want to ride your motorcycle across the country, you should not jump on the bike and hit the road. Are you going to buy a brand new bicycle and sign up for the Tour de France? No way! It takes conditioning to work yourself up to a long ride. Those cyclists work for years to get into shape for that race. While you may not need years, you do need varied rides of longer lengths to work up to a big feat.

Faster isn’t Always Better

The bicycles on the Tour de France are fast, that’s all there is to it. But it is not always the fastest rider that wins the race. Sometimes, a rider will hang back in the middle of the pack and save his strength till the end of the race. These are smart riders who know how to use their energy. On a motorcycle, when you drive fast, you are not always doing the best thing. Going fast can cause more injuries if anything happens and a lot of other bad things can happen too. Slow down, go the speed limit, and enjoy the ride.

Weather Makes a Difference

Tour de France riders have to make adjustments for rain and other weather elements. You’ll see the riders in protective gear and you’ll notice them slowing down. They want to get to the finish line, but they want to do it in one piece. Weather makes a difference for those riding on two wheels. You might want to stay off the road completely, but if you brave the various weather conditions, do so with caution.

The More You Ride, the More You Want to Ride

You might wonder how a Tour de France racer starts a career on a bicycle. Simply put, these people want to ride their bikes. They probably started off on a bike as a kid, enjoying time in the neighborhood. But they quickly found they more they rode, the more they wanted to ride. The same can be said about you and your motorcycle. If you enjoy riding, you may find that finishing a ride makes you want to start another.

Cycling is a close cousin to motorcycling. Both occur on two wheels and have plenty of other correlations. When you watch the Tour de France, keep your motorcycle in the back of your mind and see what else you can learn.