These days, of course, it is more metaphorical.
The long-serving race director does a tremendous job promoting and planning the event which gets under way in Invercargill tomorrow.
But at 67 he has decided the time it right to let someone else do the pedalling.
He has certainly put in a good shift. It is his 35th year as race director and 50th as an official.
Ross first got involved with the Tour in 1970 as a sprint judge. A good friend had asked him if he would help out and basically it involved standing on the side of the road with a flag and judging the sprint finish at the various points around the stages.
You have to be hardy. The sun is not always shining.
The rain can come at you sideways and the wind will certainly put more than a little flutter in your flag.
"I thought I'd go along for a look and held a flag and away I went. From there on in I was part of it," he said.
"A number of years later I took over the manager's role. I finished up doing that thinking it was only going to be for a one-year period until Graham Sycamore returned. But 35 years later I'm still doing the manager's role."
There have been many great races and many fantastic champions throughout the years. But Ross has extracted the most joy out of the development of young riders.
"The highlight for me has been seeing people who have started their careers down here and carried on and are now racing at the top level of cycling in the world. George Bennett is a prime example and the likes of the Tom Scullys.
"It has been nice to be part of their career in some way."
The Tour has come a long way since Kelvin Hastie won the inaugural event in 1956. And Ross is confident it has a strong future.
"I feel very confident that the event is heading in the right direction. I'm not solely responsible for that but I've been a part of it.
"I think the profile is good with a lot of media interest. The calibre of the riders has improved and there were some tours back in the '70s and '80s where we only had 45 riders.
"We have 108 this year and the standard of racing is a lot better."
"It is a challenging environment out there now. We are not surrounded down here by the giant corporates, so we have to make other means do."
"But a lot of the people who support the tour have supported it for many years and that is what has helped it survive."
Ross is as passionate now about the Tour as he was when he first caught the fever. He has put a lot into the event and will continue to stay involved in some capacity.
"I'm more than happy to be a volunteer swinging a marshal's flag on a corner or doing something. I still enjoy the event after 50 years.
"I think it is a great event and a great event for Southland and we're pretty proud of it."
