Worcester hosts Major Taylor cycling race
WORCESTER – They came from near and far to conquer one of the steepest stretches of road in Worcester.
Some got out of their beds in Worcester on Sunday morning to line up at the intersection of Main and George Streets at 10 a.m. sharp. Others traveled all the way from Georgia to tackle the 500-foot route to the end of Harvard Street, the equivalent of more than a football field and a half in length.
In addition, the route is steep, with an average gradient of 18% from start to finish.
It was the annual George Street Bike Challenge for Marshall “Major” Taylor, the “Worcester Whirlwind,” who died in 1932. Taylor rode this climb on his bike after moving to Worcester from Indianapolis. His legacy includes being crowned world cycling champion in 1899 and being the second African-American world champion in any sport, the first being Canadian boxer George Dixon in 1891.
Mason Robinson had Taylor on his mind as he rode up the climb, finishing in 33:65 seconds. Robinson was part of a group of cyclists from Macon, Georgia, who belong to the Major Taylor Middle Georgia Cycling Club. One of the club members, 15-year-old Stephen Hill Jr., who also cycled down George Street on Sunday with his younger sister Liana, said it was the first Major Taylor youth group in the world.
“I underestimated myself. I did better than I expected,” said 16-year-old Robinson, who said that in classrooms, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and Harriet Tubman are talked about, but not Taylor. Robinson felt that his participation Sunday helped “raise awareness about Taylor and the legacy he left behind.”
90 drivers: lots of fun
This year’s event was the 20th.th annual edition since 2002. A total of 90 riders aged 11 to 79 took part and Lynn Harvey from Worcester reached the top of George Street in 40:22 seconds, the fastest time in the women’s 18-34 age group.
“It was fun,” Harvey said shortly after crossing the finish line. She had completed a practice run earlier in the week and noticed that the climbs in her home country of Scotland are more winding than the ones she tackled on Sunday.
After walking to a nearby tent to clock her official time, Harvey revealed that she had injured her knee playing softball a few days before the challenge, but knew she could ride on Sunday because cycling doesn’t require much bending of the knee.
Harvey narrowly missed the fastest time of any female competitor in this year’s competition, which went to 57-year-old Margo Pawlak of Westford with a time of 40.19 seconds. Neither Harvey nor Pawlak came close to the women’s course record of 29.16 seconds set in 2012 by Julianne Oberle of Worcester.
Taylor Smith of Princeton was the top runner in this year’s challenge. The 33-year-old reached the top in 23:75 seconds, more than a second behind the course record of 22.19 seconds set by Scott Smith of Agawam in 2012.
Some are not ready for the challenge
John Melone of Clinton will not be able to break the record any time soon. He was a spectator on Sunday and watched the action with his wife and in-laws, who had traveled from Denmark.
“I couldn’t do that,” Melone said with a laugh when asked when he would finally put on his bike shorts and tackle George Street. Melone came to cheer on his buddy Mike Kirby from Sterling, who had made it up the hill, but Melone missed Kirby’s climb.
Relaxing after his lap up the hill, Kirby said he believes he will be back next year to beat George Street, but he hopes Melone won’t be there. “He won’t be,” Kirby said with a smile.
Jessica Howland, 46, from Worcester, was breathing heavily to pump oxygen into her lungs shortly after the climb. It wasn’t Howland’s first George Street challenge, but it never gets easier.
“It’s tough, but you feel like a tough guy,” Howland said. “Major Taylor was our hometown hero.”
Fans provide taste
Fans clapped and shouted words of encouragement on both sides of George Street as each cyclist made his way up the hill. Judy Benedetti was one of them. She was visiting from Vienna, West Virginia, in the western part of the state. She said that while there are hills near the Ohio River, there is nothing like George Street.
“I don’t know how they get up the mountain,” said Benedetti from her comfortable seat at the side of the track.
The McGrail family was also involved in the event: Two-year-old Claire sat on her father Matt’s lap, nibbling on a bagel and smiling broadly as one of the cyclists whizzed past.
Earlier, Matt was one of the cyclists and Claire was tied to his bike in a small trailer as they rode up the steep climb. It was the second year in a row that father and daughter made it to the top, but Matt believes their time was a little slower this year. He was right, as they finished in 64:22 seconds, down from last year’s 62:94 seconds.
Matt had an explanation for the slower result: Claire is heavier this time, which is common in growing children, but Matt added with a smile, “But I’m a little stronger.”
Near the starting line, Devon Kurtz was neither dressed for a ride up George Street nor for the day’s warm weather. Kurtz, executive director of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, wore period wool clothing similar to the Massachusetts Bicycle Club’s 1880 uniform.
Nearby was a bicycle that Kurtz called a “high-wheeler,” with a huge front wheel, a type of bicycle that was popular in the late 19th century. There was no way the bike would make it up George Street, Kurtz said, because its center of gravity was over the front wheel.
“If I rode this bike 20 feet up George Street, I would fall over,” Kurtz said.
Against the trend
Most cyclists took the straight route up George Street, following the basic mathematical principle that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Junior Ledesma, 23, of Worcester, however, had a different strategy. He took wide turns and looked nice and relaxed as he approached the apex on his SE bike, which he described as a “trick” bike with no gears.
“I took a shortcut on the hill so I wouldn’t get tired so quickly,” said Ledesma. But even with those carefree wide turns, it wasn’t as easy as it looked. “I got tired at the end.”
In addition to goodwill and plenty of sore quad muscles, this year’s challenge also raised approximately $2,000 to support programs run by the nonprofit Major Taylor Association Inc., which keeps Major Taylor’s legacy and history alive through a variety of educational and outreach programs.
“We’re having a blast,” said Lynne Tolman, the association’s president. “This year we had more participants, more kids and more people from other states. It was beautiful and incredible to witness.”
Contact Henry Schwan at [email protected]. Follow him on X: @henrytelegram.
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