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Worcester to hold Major Taylor bike climb

VaselineJuly 22, 2024

0 5 minutes read

Worcester to hold Major Taylor bike climb

WORCESTER ― They came from far and wide to conquer one of the steepest stretches of road in Worcester.

Some climbed out of their Worcester beds Sunday morning to make the 10 a.m. start time at the intersection of Main and George streets. Others traveled all the way from Georgia to tackle the 500-foot stretch at the ends of Harvard Street, which is the length of more than a football field and a half.

It’s also 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 pedaled up the hill after moving from Indianapolis to Worcester, part of his legacy, which included being crowned the world cycling champion in 1899 and only the second African-American world champion in any sport. The first was Canadian boxer George Dixon in 1891.

Mason Robinson had Taylor in mind as he took on the climb, finishing in 33:65 seconds. Robinson was part of a group of cyclists from Macon, Georgia, who are members of the Major Taylor Middle Georgia Cycling Club. One of the club’s members, 15-year-old Stephen Hill Jr., who also rode down George Street with his younger sister Liana on Sunday, said it’s the first Major Taylor youth chapter in the world.

“I underestimated myself. I did better than I expected,” said Robinson, 16, who said Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and Harriet Tubman are discussed in class but not Taylor. Robinson felt his participation Sunday helped “spread awareness about Taylor and the legacy he left behind.”

90 riders: have fun

This year’s event was the 20^e annual event since 2002. A total of 90 runners took part, ranging in age from 11 to 79, and Lynn Harvey from Worcester reached the top of George Street in 40:22 seconds, the fastest time in the women’s 18 to 34 category.

“It was fun,” Harvey said moments after finishing. She had done a practice ride earlier in the week and noted that in her native Scotland the hills are twistier than the ones she tackled Sunday.

After walking to a nearby tent to check her official time, Harvey revealed that she had injured her knee playing softball a few days before the challenge, but she knew she could ride on Sunday because she doesn’t have to bend her knees much when she rides.

Harvey narrowly missed out on the top time for all female competitors in this year’s challenge, which is being sought by Margo Pawlak, 57, of Westford, with a time of 40.19 seconds. Neither Harvey nor Pawlak can come close to the women’s course record of 29.16 seconds, set in 2012 by Julianne Oberle of Worcester.

Princeton’s Taylor Smith was the top overall finisher in this year’s challenge. The 33-year-old raced to the top in 23:75 seconds, more than a second off the course record of 22.19 seconds, set in 2012 by Agawam’s Scott Smith.

Some are not ready for the challenge

Clinton’s John Melone is unlikely to break the record any time soon. He was a spectator on Sunday, watching the action with his wife and in-laws who came from Denmark.

“I couldn’t do this,” Melone said with a laugh when asked when he would put on a pair of cycling shorts and tackle George Street. Melone had come to cheer on his buddy Mike Kirby of Sterling who had come up the hill, but Melone missed Kirby’s climb.

Kirby relaxed after his turn on the mound and said he thinks he’ll be back next year to take on George Street, but he’s not holding his breath for Melone to join the fun. “He won’t,” Kirby said with a smile.

Jessica Howland, 46, of Worcester, breathed heavily to pump oxygen into her lungs moments after completing the climb. It wasn’t Howland’s first George Street challenge, but it never gets easier.

“It’s tough, but it makes you feel like a badass,” Howland said. “Major Taylor was our hometown hero.”

Fans add flavor

Fans clapped and shouted encouragement from both sides of George Street as each cyclist rounded a bend up the hill. Judy Benedetti was one of them, visiting from Vienna, West Virginia, in the western part of that state, where she said there are hills by the Ohio River, but nothing like George Street.

“I don’t know how they get up the hill,” Benedetti said from her comfortable seat along the route.

The McGrail family also enjoyed the action, with 2-year-old Claire sitting on her father Matt’s lap, eating a bagel and flashing a big smile as one of the cyclists raced past.

Earlier, Matt had been one of the cyclists, with Claire strapped to his bike in a small trailer as they made their way up the steep incline. It was the second year in a row that father and daughter had reached the top, but Matt thinks their time was a little slower this year. He was right, as they finished in 64:22 seconds, which was down on last year’s 62:94 seconds.

Matt had an explanation for the slower results: Claire is heavier this time around, which often happens as children grow up, but Matt added with a smile, “But I’m a little stronger.”

At the starting line, Devon Kurtz wasn’t dressed for a ride down George Street or for the day’s warm weather. Kurtz, executive director of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, wore period clothing made of wool that resembled the uniform worn by the Massachusetts Bicycle Club in the 1880s.

Nearby was what Kurtz called a “high wheel,” with a huge front wheel, the type of bicycle popular in the late 19th century. That bike wouldn’t be able to go up George Street, Kurtz said, because its center of gravity is over the front wheel.

“If I went 20 feet up George Street with this bike, I would fall,” Kurtz said.

Goes against the trend

Most riders took the straightaway up George Street, following the basic principle of mathematics 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, looking nice and relaxed as he approached the apex on his SE bike, which he described as a “trick bike” with no gears.

“I cut the hill so I wouldn’t get tired so quickly,” Ledesma said. 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 a lot of sore quadriceps muscles, this year’s challenge raised about $2,000 to support programs run by the nonprofit Major Taylor Association Inc. It keeps Major Taylor’s legacy and story alive through various educational and outreach programs.

“We had a great time,” said Lynne Tolman, the association’s president. “This year we had more female participants, more children, more people from out of state. It was beautiful and wonderful to see.”

Contact Henry Schwan at [email protected]. Follow him on X: @henrytelegram.