North Carolina · Est. 2021
Riding with purpose.Strength in community.
A cycling community carrying the name of the first Black world cycling champion, and the work that comes with it.
Our namesake
He was told he could not race.
He won anyway.
In 1899, Marshall “Major” Taylor won the world sprint championship in Montreal, becoming the first Black world cycling champion and only the second Black world champion in any sport, after boxer George Dixon. Tracks refused to let him compete. Riders tried to run him off the road. Promoters scheduled around him. He kept pedaling and he kept winning.
We carry his name because we carry the same conviction: that cycling belongs to everyone, and that showing up on the road is itself an act of purpose. Everything else on this page follows from that.
“In a word I was a pioneer, and therefore had to blaze my own trail.”
Marshall “Major” Taylor, The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World, 1928
How our work connects
One legacy. Three ways to move it forward.
What began with a cycling community has grown into broader work connecting movement, health, history and opportunity. Each has its own role, audience and home.
The cycling community
Major Taylor Cycling Club of North Carolina
Member-led rides, clinics, connection and opportunities to lead across North Carolina and within the broader Major Taylor cycling family.
Ride with us →
The nonprofit
Major Taylor Community Outreach
The nonprofit expands the mission through community programs, health and access initiatives, partnerships, and public-facing work.
See the work →900×700
The signature experience
Parrish Street Legacy Bike, Run, Walk
A heritage athletic festival on Durham’s historic Black Wall Street, bringing cycling, running and walking together through history, culture and movement.
Learn more →Our impact
What the miles have added up to
Happening now
Three things worth your attention
Applications close September 1
Help lead the Parrish Street Legacy festival
Eleven committee chair roles are open for the inaugural year, along with committee service and event weekend volunteering.
Every month, a different city
The monthly ride is moving around the state
Each month the club ride lands somewhere new, hosted by members who know those roads. If it is coming your way, help us shape it.
Annual community ride
Major Miles for Mammograms
Riding to put early detection and screening within reach of the people who need it most.
How rides happen
The ride comes to you, and sometimes
you bring it.
North Carolina is a big state and our riders are spread across it. So instead of running everything from one place, we put rides in the hands of the people who live there. If you have a route you love, you already have what it takes to lead.
A monthly ride that moves
Each month the club ride lands in a different part of the state, hosted by members who know those roads.
Pop-up rides, any time
Members put rides on the calendar. Pick a route, pick a morning, and we will help you fill it.
Riding with neighbors
We show up for rides hosted by other clubs around Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte, and beyond.
Trips worth taking
A few times a year we travel, including to visit our cycling cousins in South Carolina and Georgia.
Interested in hosting one? Mention it to any ride leader, or say something at the next ride you come out to. That is genuinely how most of them start.
Calendar
Ride season calendar returning soon.
Rides are posted as they are scheduled. In the meantime, the members Facebook group is where they get announced first.
Membership
What comes with joining
Membership is access to a community, to resources, and to a legacy worth riding for.
Rides all year
Group rides at every pace, organized by members in their own communities.
Member apparel
Club cycling kits and apparel available only to members.
Support to lead
Want a ride where you live? We help you plan it, promote it, and fill it.
Bike box lending
Club-owned bike boxes for travel, with a refundable deposit.
Clinics and skills
Cycling and maintenance clinics through the year.
A wider network
Show up in another city and find people who ride the way you do.
Bring the rider you are today. There is room to grow from here. Strength in community.
Stories from the movement
What the miles add up to
Ride recaps, member stories, and news from the club.
- Eleven Leadership Roles Open for the Parrish Street Legacy Festival
- Parrish Street Legacy Bike, Run, Walk Awarded $100,000 by Durham Next
- What happened when the national convention came to Durham
Partners and supporters
We do not do any of this alone
Sponsors, civic partners, and funders make the community work possible. If your organization wants to be part of it, we would like to talk.
Partner with usStay connected
Tell us what you want to hear about
Ride announcements, community programs, festival news, and the occasional story worth your time. Pick your interests so we only send what matters to you.