An uphill battle for a good cause: The George Street Bike Challenge for Major Taylor in Worcester

Every July, the steeply-inclined George Street in downtown Worcester, MA, is the location of a unique cycling event. On Sunday, July 25, 2010, George Street will once again host an annual uphill time trial in honor of the early 20th-century cycling superstar, Major Taylor, when the Ninth Annual George Street Bike Challenge for Major Taylor takes place starting at 10 am.

This narrow, tree-lined hill was once the training site for Marshall W. “Major” Taylor, an African-American cyclist known as the “Worcester Whirlwind,” who won the 1899 World One Mile Track Cycling Championship after overcoming racial discrimination. Taylor was the first African-American cyclist to achieve the level of world champion and only the second black man to win a world championship of any kind. He used the hill, one of the steepest in his adopted hometown, as a measure of his cycling prowess prior to his many international competitions. Taylor would pedal the hill over and over again, timing his efforts and seeking to better his previous performance.

The George Street Bike Challenge website urges cycling thrill-seekers to “See how fast you can pedal up George Street, a two-block quad-buster that was a training ground for 1899 world champion Major Taylor. It’s one rider at a time against the clock in this steep uphill time trial in downtown Worcester, presented by Barney’s Bicycle and the Seven Hills Wheelmen, on the last Sunday in July. The distance is 500 feet, and the average grade is 18 percent. The contest is open to riders age 12 and up. Helmets are required. Proceeds benefit the Major Taylor Association, Inc. Click here for details and to register. To become a sponsor or donate raffle prizes, e-mail info@majortaylorassociation.org.” The raffle prizes include a Fuji Newest 3.0 bicycle valued at over $700, as well as Major Taylor memorabilia, cycling gear, and cycling DVDs, in addition to many other cool prizes.

Riders pay a $15 fee to participate in the George Street Bike Challenge, which goes to the Major Taylor Association, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to “recognizing sportsmanship, promoting nonviolence and caring for those less fortunate.” In past years the association applied the race entry fees towards funds raised for a bronze statue of Major Taylor, which was unveiled outside the Worcester Public Library two years ago. Three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond, who became a world champion 90 years after Taylor accomplished the feat, was one of the featured speakers at the statue’s unveiling in May of 2008. This year, the proceeds will go towards education programs about Major Taylor and the statue’s maintenance fund.

So why not make it a full day of cycling fun, excitement, and education for the whole family? If you’re feeling really adventurous, you can enter the competition and try your hand (and legs) at challenging one of the steepest inclines in Massachusetts. The less ambitious can cheer the competitors from the sidelines, and then combine their outing to the George Street Bike Challenge with a trip to visit the Major Taylor statue, which is just down the street at the Worcester Public Library. After that, grab a bite to eat at Bocado Tapas Wine Bar, Mezcal Tequila Cantina, or The Citizen Wine Bar, three great places to dine in Worcester (and avid supporters of the George Street Bike Challenge).

Or, you can hang out after the race at Garden Fresh Courthouse Cafe at the base of the George Street hill where it intersects Main Street. Normally closed Sundays, the cafe opens the last Sunday in July especially for the event, and helps out the race organizers with beverages and snacks for volunteers, the use of their bathrooms, and viewing of the Tour de France finale on their big flat-screen TV. So if you can't be in Paris on the last day of the Tour, you can be soaking up genuine cycling ambiance in the "Paris of the Eighties," as Worcester was once known. It just might become an annual tradition for you, as it has for hundreds of other cycling fans in New England.

For more information about the George Street Bike Challenge for Major Taylor as well as maps and directions visit their web site.

To see more photos of last year's George Street Bike Challenge, visit Pete Banach's website at Spoke'n'Shutter.