Major Taylor Association

George Street Bike Challenge

July 21, 2024 2024 George Street Raffle Win a bike!

Win a Giant Escape 2 Disc bike from Landry's Bicycles, or other cool stuff, in a prize drawing at the conclusion of the George Street Bike Challenge for Major Taylor at George and Main streets, Worcester, Mass. You need not enter the hill climb or be present at the drawing to win. Proceeds benefit the Major Taylor Association.

Purchase raffle tickets online or at the George Street Bike Challenge on July 21.

1 TICKET ($5) 3 TICKETS ($12) 6 TICKETS ($20)

Buy raffle tickets
with hill climb registration
Buy raffle tickets
without registration

GRAND PRIZE -- Giant Escape 2 Disc: This flat-bar all-rounder bicycle is good for commuting to work, riding to class, and finding new adventures in your daily routine. Built on a lightweight aluminum frame, it features disc brakes, a composite fork, 700c wheels with tubeless tires, and integrated mounts for racks and fenders. It even has clearance for larger tires, up to 45mm wide. Click here for complete specs, or visit Landry's Bicycles, 20 Jolma Road, Worcester.

MORE PRIZES:

Major Taylor cycling jersey from the Major Taylor Association. The custom design features a 1900 photograph of Major Taylor taken by E. Chickering in Boston; the Worcester, Mass., street sign for Major Taylor Boulevard with the city's "Heart of the Commonwealth" symbol; and the 1899 world champion's nickname, "The Worcester Whirlwind." Size small. To buy this jersey ($75), click here.

Jack Trice cycling jersey from the Trice Legacy Foundation. Learn more about John "Jack" Trice, an African American college football player in the Jim Crow era who died from injuries suffered in a 1923 game.

The 2023 children's book "Major Taylor: World Cycling Champion," written by Charles R. Smith Jr. and illustrated by Leo Espinosa.

"Writing in a rhythmic patter that sometimes sprints, sometimes properly evokes a sense of stubborn endurance in the face of utter exhaustion, Smith chronicles the course of an incredible six-day indoor race ... poetic." -- Booklist

"Black Cyclists: The Race for Inclusion" (Univeristy of Illinois Press, 2024) by Robert J. Turpin. The book sheds light on the contributions of Black cyclists from the sport's early days, telling the stories of prominent riders Major Taylor and Kittie Knox as well as lesser-known athletes such as Melvin Dove and Hardy Jackson.

Two biographies by Andrew Homan about track cycling greats: "Iron Mac: The Legend of Roughhouse Cyclist Reggie McNamara" and "Life in the Slipstream: The Legend of Bobby Walthour Sr."

"The Original Bucky Lew: Basketball's First Black Professional" by Chris Boucher. The inspiring true story of an African American trailblazer, this young-adult book chronicles the life of the basketball player, manager, owner, and referee from Lowell, Mass., who integrated his sport in 1902. When Lew showed promise as a bicycle racer in his teens, the Lowell Sun called him "the Major Taylor of this city."

From the SRAM family, T-shirts spotlighting Zipp wheels and TIME pedals.