Major Taylor Association

George Street Bike Challenge

July 22, 2018 2018 George Street Raffle Win a bike!

Win an SE Bikes Big Flyer 29" street bike from Barney's Bicycle. Tickets are $5, or three for $12, or six for $20. Prize drawing will be July 22 at the conclusion of the 16th edition of the George Street Bike Challenge for Major Taylor at George and Main streets, Worcester, Mass. Proceeds benefit the Major Taylor Association.

GRAND PRIZE -- SE Bikes 29" Big Flyer: The street-ready Big Flyer is the raddest bike in the city. It's an ideal cruiser for urban bike life, complete with SE Bikes pad set, rad plate, grip donuts, and wheelie pegs. It features an aluminum frame, 29-inch wheels with double-wall rims, 33T sprocket, 15T freewheel, V-brake, adjustable seatpost, and 30" cruiser handlebar. Click here for complete specs, or visit Barney's Bicycle, 582 Park Ave., Worcester. Winner: Rick Holt

MORE PRIZES:

A pair of road wheels from Barney's Bicycle, courtesy of JBI.BIKE. This Wheel Master Origin8 Bolt 700C wheelset is ready to bolt. Featuring deep-dish aero rims and sealed-bearing hubs, as well as low-count Swiss-made DT spokes. They are tubeless-compatible and accept 8- to 11-speed cassettes. These smooth-rolling alloy road wheels are light, fast, strong and ready to ride. Winner: Denise Mueller-Korenek

Major Taylor cycling jersey from the Major Taylor Association. The custom, limited-edition 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." Made by Louis Garneau in Micro-Airdry fabric with a 14-inch hidden zipper and three rear pockets. To buy this jersey ($69), click here. Winner: Sharon Freed

JERSEY SPONSORS: AdventureCORPS
Jason & Fischer (BikeAttorney.com)

Large-format prints of original Major Taylor artwork by Donald Gladden. Other works by the Baltimore artist are available from Gladden Works Studio. Winners: Bill Pierce and Thomas Ryde

Two $10 gift cards from Crust Artisan Bakeshop and two $15 gift cards from North Main Provisions, a wine, cheese and specialty grocery shop. Both these fine additions to Main Street are just steps away from George Street. Winners: Genie Smith, Sue Brazeau, Shirley Shepardson, Paul Kreswick

The book "The Comeback: Greg LeMond, the True King of American Cycling, and a Legendary Tour de France" by Daniel de Vise (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2018). "An eye-popping ride." - Diana Nyad. "Daniel de Vise explores one of cycling's epic duels (in) a narrative that rocks." - Peter Joffre Nye Winner: Denise Mueller-Korenek

The book "Major: A Black Athlete, a White Era, and the Fight to Be the World's Fastest Human Being" by Todd Balf.
To buy this or other books about Major Taylor, start here and your purchase will benefit the Major Taylor Association. Winner: Sharon Freed

The book "Life in the Slipstream: The Legend of Bobby Walthour Sr.," signed by author Andrew M. Homan. This fast-paced biography chronicles the rise of one of Major Taylor's contemporaries on the bicycle racing tracks of America and Europe, from a bicycle messenger in Georgia to a two-time national and international cycling champion. Winner: Bill Pierce

"The Fast Times of Albert Champion" by Peter Joffre Nye, the biography of another record-setting bicyclist who went head-to-head with Major Taylor. The French immigrant also was a motorcyclist, daredevil racecar driver, early automobile innovator (ACDelco and Champion Spark Plug), ladies' man, and celebrity of the Jazz Age. This book unspools a raucous story of speed, success and betrayal. Winners: Paul Markiewicz and Thomas Ryde

Prints and T-shirts featuring cyanotypes by Lisa Shea of Sutton -- original artworks made using bicycle gears from Trek Stop. The prints are 8x10 images matted to 11x14.Winners: Shirley Shepardson, Paul Kreswick, Judy Fenner, Paul Markiewicz

A gift package from the Worcester Railers, including 4 tickets to a home game, a T-shirt, a Trax bobblehead, a lunch bag, a drink cozy, and school supplies -- great gear to show pride in Worcester's pro hockey team in the ECHL. Winner: Bill McCarthy

The book "Worcester Stacks Up" by CJ Posk. Packed with extraordinary facts about an unassuming city, this brightly illustrated tribute to Worcester naturally includes multiple world record holder Major Taylor. Winners: Paul Kreswick, Bill McCarthy, Paul Markiewicz, Shirley Shepardson, Judy Fenner

A "Say Nice Things About Worcester" tote bag from Worcester Wares containing a classic Worcester T-shirt, a smiley ornament and an assortment of Worcester stickers. Winner: Genie Smith

A rider entry in the Vermont Challenge Gran Fondo at Stratton Mountain on Saturday, Aug. 18. Choose a ride distance - 27, 47, 73 or 108 miles - and see the Green Mountains over the handlebars. The gran fondo is part of a four-day ridefest that on Sunday includes the type of challenge we love: an uphill time trial. Winner: Judy Fenner

Long-sleeved T-shirts from the 1854 Cycling Co., whose name evokes the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society meeting on July 4, 1854, in Framingham, Mass., where the company is based. Speakers included abolitionists William Lloyd Garrison and Sojourner Truth, who said: "I will shake every place I go to." Winners: Bill Pierce, Shirley Shepardson

A T-shirt from The Burg, where the Fitchburg Historical Society has "Iver Johnson and the Early Years of Cycling in Fitchburg" on display through Aug. 22. The exhibit includes over 50 bicycles made by Iver Johnson, a sponsor of Major Taylor. Winner: Sue Brazeau

The book "Boston's Cycling Craze, 1880-1900: A Story of Race, Sport, and Society" by Lorenz J. Finison. This book explores how cyclists of all backgrounds made Boston a hub of bicycling in the late 19th century. Of course, Major Taylor is in the cast of characters, along with Kittie Knox, a biracial seamstress who also challenged the color line; and Mary Sargent Hopkins, publisher of The Wheelwoman. Winner: Joni Johnson