| Major Taylor Birthday Ride |
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| Written by Iilonga Thandiwe |
| Sunday, 27 November 2011 00:00 |
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THE OCCASION With Thanksgiving barely two days old, and the extra calories and gastronomic excesses accompanying it still lingering, a host of local riders convened for a commemoration ride in southwest Atlanta. The occasion was an answer to the call by the National Brotherhood of Cyclists (NBC) for a national ride in celebration of the World Champion cyclist Major Taylor. Born on November 26, 1878, Marshall "Major" Taylor had been marginalized and been all but forgotten, relegated to the dustbin of history as a mere footnote on the landscape of excellence in cycling. His crime? He had the audacity ...
to race. To ride faster than the field, to set and break records and to establish himself as the fastest man on the planet on two wheels when he won the World Championship in 1899. However these accomplishments would be overshadowed by the racial animus that colored the nation in the 1800's. None of Taylor's successes would supersede his singular status as a Black man in a "white sport", or as an African American in a racially polarized world. As a Black cyclist, Taylor would, by virtue of his talent, skills, and raw power challenge the myth of white racial superiority, and threaten to rupture the "science" of Jim Crow that had paralyzed much of the South, and had infected most of the country.
It was only due to the efforts of conscious and committed cyclists that Taylor's accomplishments and legacy have been resurrected and rescued from anonymity. The current prevalence and breadth of "Major Taylor" clubs are a living testament and vital witness to the capacity of Black cyclists, in particular, to reclaim history, and embrace the best of what it means to be a cyclist. Through his actions, attitude, and humility Taylor set the bar for performance, and the standard for humanity that future generations would come to emulate. THE RIDE With a dense cloud cover shielding the riders from the autumn sun, riders both novice and veteran assembled for a rare noon ride. The cadre that circled up in the Kroger parking lot came in spite of a plethora of rivalry football games on TV (in Atlanta the UGa v.GaTech game was center stage), and a relatively late 12:00 pm start. Forgoing the opportunity to fight the remnants of "Black Friday" shoppers, the Atlanta crew joined cyclists across the country to ride in honor and memory of Major Taylor.  The Atlanta 2011 NBC Major Taylor Ride was a wildly successful event, with MACC (the Metro Atlanta Cycling Club) well represented along side a cluster of other riders. Billed as a casual 35 mile birthday ride, nearly twenty riders came out for a nice social ride commemorating the forgotten legend, Major Marshall Taylor. What they got was a nice history lecture at the start of a highly technical and challenging route of 40 miles, climbing over 2400 feet that rivaled most MACC traditional routes.See Fridge's SportsTrackLive link here http://www.sportstracklive.com/track/detail/fridge35/Cycling/Atlant...
The ride took the cyclists on a novel route through Fulton, Douglass and Cobb counties, circling three lakes, and crossing the Chattahoochee River twice. With temperatures steadily hovering in the mid-60s the main portion of the route circumscribed the 2500-plus acres of Sweetwater Creek State Park. The riders quickly broke into two groups with the cocktails and cabana group bringing up the rear and the main peloton breaking away. Though the ride leader described the route as having only a couple of notable climbs a few riders found the hills particularly punishing. Nevertheless the trailing group did performed admirably. In particular Mike did an outstanding job of staying with the last rider. Doing his best impression of "Bo"and embodying the unity implicit in this commemorative ride, he stayed with Marcia the entire way as she pushed her 50-pound mountain bike over asphalt . Iilonga similarly stayed in cruise mode as he insured that both Lynnae and Lisa were able to safely and contentedly complete what was the longest and most challenging ride they had done in some time. Though Lisa was praying for forgiveness on the final few climbs on Cascade Road (and probably toyed with quitting at least a half dozen times), she perservered. She displayed, albeit on a different scale, the kind of toughness that Major Taylor exhibited when he did his first professional race. In 1896 the Madison Square Garden 6-Day was a continuous non-stop race with breaks only to eat, sleep (if you dared), and use the bathroom. An experiment in pain and self-immolation, the goal of the Six-Day was simple: who could ride the most miles at the end of six-days. For a sprinter like Taylor, this exercise of endurance was foreign. After only 18 hours of riding Taylor's energy faded, yet beset with pain and fatigue he continued. Fighting through crashes, and delirium he completed 1,787 miles as only one of fifteen riders to finish the event. A VIEW FROM THE FRONT For all of the Atlanta Major Taylor Birthday Ride crew the climbing started less than 3 miles into the ride around the scenic Niskey Lake with 7% - 10% grades for about 4 miles. This was the start of the group split as casual riders began a long day in the saddle, while the front group (led by the usual suspects) climbed gingerly around the lake. We stopped by one of the OG MACC members (Bassell) place to chat him up and reminisce over the early days of MACC. Riders regrouped at the 8 mile split on Campbellton/Boat rock road for the start the MACC train that ran over 25 mph for 5 miles until a Pit Bull greeted us at King road, starting the mile climb up to Riverside Parkway.
The run on Riverside was fast and furious over massive rollers and open road with max speeds of 40+ mph. We took in a long recovery stop light at Camp Creek before starting the 5 mile ascent around Six flags drive to our first and only store stop. We were only 21 miles (half way) into the ride at this point.
The route opened up around the beautiful and scenic Sweetwater creek area traveling over George sparks reservoir along Mt Vernon road. The front group kept a hard tempo as they climbed up to Highway 92. After a couple of miles on Highway 92, the group found themselves “again” on Riverside Parkway.
The MACC train left the station again on Riverside with strong pulls and attacks, averaging 30+ mph over the rollers for a second time. Upon our ascent of the last roller, the lead engine imploded and fell off the tracks.
After all that, the group still had to ride Camp Creek rd and climb back home on infamous Cascade road from Fulton Industrial in holiday traffic. While there were no casualties, Cascade did take its toll. As riders lumbered up the 3 mile climb, a chain broke from over 400 watts of torque, rendering the rider on foot.
The front group pulled back into Kroger and dispatched a sag for the bewildered rider. We picked up a cold case to recover and fellowship in the parking lot, while we waited over an hour for the rest of the riders to pull in. Everyone returned without incident or injury.
Congratulations to NBC for organizing this tribute to a pioneer, and to all of the riders, across the country for keeping the image and memory of Major Taylor alive.
Illonga and Tony
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