Major Taylor: Champion of the Race 

Still have it in a basement somewhere?

What kind of bike do you have?

@@capoislamort100 an old 90's vintage Merlin road bike is my daily rider.

His position is too cramped, stem too short , I raced for years and way back world champion Danny Clark told me about this , took the advice because I didn't really know shit !!😊😊 his advice helped me kick ass for years 😂😂

It's pretty easy to speed through the fund raising.......

Being a woman of color and an athlete in a sport that has few blacks in it, saddens me as I have NEVER heard of this athlete. Marshall Major Taylor was incredible for the obvious, but also for being a beacon for all of us, ALL Americans - regardless of race - in showing us how to be dignified in the face of hate. I love his story, thank you for teaching me more about my people.

I remember reading about that! I started racing when I was 13, and Major Taylor was one of the giants of American cycling history. We all knew about him. The letters discovery is extraordinary.

Karen Brown Donovan is his great-granddaughter. She is in the doc.

Thank you. My dumb butt missed that

Cant wait to see yours should awesome 👏

I would agree that if you’re trying to be a competitive cyclist, equipment is definitely prohibitively expensive. However, if you are simply trying to get fit and casually ride, then bikes are as cheap as ever. All of my bikes are second hand and my most expensive one I bought for $300 (with Dura Ace components!) I will admit though, if you don’t know where to shop or where to find deals then yes-the sport is expensive.

@@peterconnors5259 Yes, we're not talking casual riding here, we're talking racing. To be competitive in road, the outlay is ~$3K USD minimum for a bike, race wheels, pedals, shoes, helmet, kit, racing license, etc. It's an expensive sport, and that's unfortunately why disadvantaged groups are underrepresented.

@@honestreviewer3283 wow, that’s more than I’ve ever spent on bikes, and I would consider myself a bit of a nut since I’ve bought around 8 of them. I didn’t realize the barrier to entry was that steep :o

@@honestreviewer3283 Are you saying Blacks are a disadvantaged group? As a teen, I wanted a top-end bicycle. This meant working odd jobs to save the money. Your comment implies that somebody ought to just give bikes to disadvantaged people. Earlier, you called it a "white sport," which shows how litle you know. In my Socal region, I see numerous Blacks, Asians, Latinos, Whites, etc. riding nice bikes in fast group rides. It takes effort and drive to participate in "expensive" sports like this, motocross, golf, skiing, car racing, ...need I go on?

@@MrRoadcrankr "Your comment implies that somebody ought to just give bikes to disadvantaged people." My comment implies no such thing. I am pointing out socioeconomic disparities in our society that manifest themselves in sports that have a prohibitive cost of entry. I studied the socioeconomics of poverty and racism in university (which I paid for by "working odd jobs to save the money"). Did you; or do you just base all your opinions on your direct observations, like a child? You see SOME successful people of color on rides in your expensive area, but the fact is that here in America there are very few people of color in cycling. And, no, I most certainly did not call cycling a "white sport" in the "whites only" sense you're accusing me of; I said it's a "very white sport" because the vast majority of its participants ARE white and that "this is sadly reflective of the prohibitive cost of entry due to all the equipment required." One of the best domestic pro cycling teams today is Legion of Los Angeles, led by the Williams brothers (who are Black), but their story is exceptional; like in hockey, most of their competitors are white, and this is due to the reasons I've outlined. So are YOU implying that people of color are somehow lazy and that there would be more of them in these sports if they just had more "effort and drive"? And are YOU trying to claim that systemic racism hasn't and doesn't depress communities of color in America? Because that's flat out incorrect and isn't supported by the facts ("which shows how little you know"). I bet you're a Trump supporter. Illiterate child.

the book Black Cyclists goes into a little more detail about his life after racing. In part, it was a series of failed business ventures and in part, he gave a lot away...to his church and in the form of allowing people to become delinquent in their rent on his properties. There is more, however, as systemic racism has far too many tentacles to list them all in a youtube comment. :)

@@SuperRowbear thanks, I'll look for the book.

Painfully obvious that most of the people featured in this have no understanding of cycling. Mark says "hang back in the pocket." Come on, dude, wtf do you think you're talking about? A quarterback? You'd think at least one of the many Hoosiers involved in making this would understand the concept of drafting; considering the world famous race track minutes from the State Museum.

Man, you’re too much you know that. Everything is a complaint from you.

@@NickBonne The "pocket" he's referring to is when three cyclists hold a fourth rider on the inside edge of the track, one in front-one on the side-one in back, so that the middle rider cannot sprint away from the front rider. This is planned ahead of time by the other riders and was often employed against Taylor. He learned to hang back and avoid this situation and then sprint to the line unimpeded. Maybe do a little research of your own before posting a negative comment.

@@Velolab That is not what was said. Being “in” something is quite different than being “behind” it. To “hang back IN the pocket” is what was said. You describe that Taylor prevented a pocket from being formed around him, sat on the wheels, in the leading riders’ draft, and sprinted over the top at the right moment. Two completely different situations.

⁠@@NickBonneyou’re just splitting hairs. However, I do think it would have been helpful to explain racing tactics (and what a pocket was) and how other riders worked against Taylor to prevent him from winning.