About the Club

The Major Taylor Cycling Club of Philadelphia, also known as MTCC Philly was formed in 2015 and consists of cyclists of all different levels who wish to represent the spirit of Major Taylor in Philadelphia and the tri-state region.

Our mission is three fold: to promote a healthy lifestyle through the love of cycling, encourage camaraderie among fellow riders, and instill a sense of community among cyclists and cycling organizations.

The Club also seeks to educate the public about its namesake, legendary cyclist Marshall “Major” Taylor, who in 1899 became the first African-American world cycling champion.

Membership is open to anyone willing to embrace our mission regardless of race, creed or gender. While most of our rides are geared for road bikes, many of our members also participate as tourists, racers, mountain, and tandem bikers. We are also commuters and daily riders, weekend and occasional riders that have a love of cycling.

MTCC Philly is affiliated with Major Taylor Association, the League of American Bicyclists, and United States Cycling Federation.

Who is Major Taylor

Marshall Walter “Major” Taylor was born November 26, 1878, in Indianapolis, Indiana. In the early years of his life, Taylor was raised without much money. His father, a farmer and Civil War veteran, worked as carriage driver for a wealthy family.

Taylor often joined his dad at work and became close to his father’s employers, especially their son, who was similar in age. Eventually, Taylor moved in with the family, a radical change that gave the young boy a more stable home situation with opportunities for a better education.

Taylor was essentially treated as one of the family’s own, and one of their early gifts to him was a new bike. Taylor took to it immediately, teaching himself bike tricks that he showed off to his friends.

When Taylor’s antics caught the attention of a local bike shop owner, he was hired to exhibit his tricks outside the shop to attract more customers. Often, he donned a military uniform, which earned him the nickname “Major” from the shop’s clientele. The nickname remained with him for the rest of his life.

With the encouragement of the bike shop owner, Taylor entered his first bike race when he was in his early teens, a 10-mile event that he won easily. By the age of 18, Taylor had relocated to Worcester Massachusetts, and started racing professionally. In his first competition, an exhausting six-day ride at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Taylor finished eighth.

From there, he pedaled into history. By 1898, Taylor had captured seven world records. A year later, he was crowned national and international champion, making him just the second black world champion athlete, after the bantamweight boxer George Dixon. He collected medals and prize money in races around the world, including Australia, Europe and all over North America.

In one six-week period in 1899, Taylor established seven world records.  These included the .25 miles (0.40 km), .33 miles (0.53 km), .5 miles (0.80 km), .66 miles (1.06 km), .75 miles (1.21 km), 1 mile (1.6 km) and the 2 miles (3.2 km). His standing start mile "record" of 1:41, stood for 28 years.

Additional articles - http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/who.shtml

Citation Information
Article Title
Major Taylor Biography
Author
Website Name
The Biography.com website
URL
http://www.biography.com/people/marshall-walter-major-taylor
Access Date
November 4, 2015
Publisher
A&E Television Networks