Event Details
WORCESTER -- George Street was already a known challenge for bicyclists when rising star Marshall "Major" Taylor moved to Worcester in 1895 at age 16. It was said that any cyclist worth his salt could pedal up the short, steep hill.
The daunting incline was paved with cobblestones, and cyclists preferred to ride up the narrow but smoother sidewalk. When Taylor gave it a try, a crowd came to watch.
"It was a tough assignment that I wished on myself," Taylor wrote 32 years later in his autobiography, "but I made it on the first attempt and within fifteen minutes I repeated the stunt riding down on both occasions."
Major Taylor would go on to set several world records, become the world cycling champion in 1899, and notch numerous victories in Europe and Australia.
George Street remains a proving ground for cyclists to this day, with riders making the ascent one at a time against the clock almost every year since 2002 in the George Street Bike Challenge for Major Taylor, a fundraiser for the Major Taylor Association. The distance is 500 feet, and the grade averages 18 percent. (Today the street is one-way uphill, and riders are not allowed to bike down the hill.)
Presented by the Seven Hills Wheelmen and Landry's Bicycles, this year's George Street Bike Challenge will be held Sunday, July 27. Entry fee is $20 per rider, online or on-site on race day.
New this year, the event will include a festival featuring a bike swap and community fair. Vendors, collectors, and community organizations will offer bike gear, craft items, other goods and information on cycling and other forms of transportation, as well as social justice topics.
The festival will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the sidewalks of north Main Street, between Garden Fresh Courthouse Cafe (204 Main St.) and the Major Taylor Museum (2 Main St.) at the Courthouse Lofts. The north end of Main Street will be closed to cars. Admission is free.
Rider check-in opens at 8:30 a.m. July 27 outside Garden Fresh Courthouse Cafe at 204 Main St., and the bike race begins at 10. It's free for spectators.