Come show your support for kids and bikes with the sweat on your brow and the strength of your legs!
Cascade Bicycle Club and Allstar Fitness will host the second annual Major Taylor Project Spin-A-Thon on Thursday, Feb. 16. All proceeds will support our efforts to introduce the joy of cycling to underserved communities and empower the next generation of riders through the Major Taylor Project.
Our goal is to raise $15,000 in one evening, enabling us to expand the program to a sixth location, Highline High School in Burien, for the 2012-2013 school year. And we think we can do it. But we need your help.
Just sign up to spinfor one, two or three hours between 5 and 8 p.m., with a minimum donation of $25 per hour.
Sponsor-a-Spinner: Collect pledges from friends and family — encourage them to give enough to keep you on the bike for all three hours!
Sponsor-a-Student: Donate, then let one of our students ride so you don’t have to.
Match-a-Spinner: If you work for an organization that will match tax-deductible gifts, you can double your support.
You can include an online donation with your RSVP, mail a check to Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation at 7400 Sand Point Way NE, Suite 101s, Seattle, WA 98115 (make sure it’s payable to Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation and include “MTP Spin-A-Thon” in the memo), or pay at the door with credit card, check or cash.
And even if you can’t be with us, you can support the cause by including a donation with your regrets.
For more information, contact Emma Epstein, Major Taylor Project Outreach Program Assistant, at mtpa@cascadebicycleclub.org or (206)957-6960.
Get ready for a fun, fast-paced, sweat-filled evening. We’ll see you there.
Last Thursday’s Earn-a-Bike session was a significant milestone in the development of the Major Taylor Project. For the first time ever, the celebratory end of the session—where students are awarded locks, lights and helmets and ride their bike home for keeps—was coupled with an invite to all parents, family and friends of the students. We sent letters home and called, letting families know that they were valued as part of the Major Taylor Project and that we would love to meet them. We acknowledged the importance of formalizing relationships with guardians early on in the year, especially if we are going to convince them to let their child ride with us in July on the epic 206 miles of STP.
Around 4 p.m., as students were tweaking final screws, test riding outside, or rummaging through boxes of Cascade swag (leftover event shirts), parents began to arrive, delighted to see what their kids have undertaken the past few
weeks. More than ten parents and siblings came, including a mother whose son couldn’t come because he had to another school commitment.
One mother, who spoke to me confidentially in Spanish, told me how her son was failing some of his classes and that the bike club was the only place her son really excelled. She had asked her boss for the afternoon off, to be present and support her son engaging in what he was most passionate about. I told her how helpful and productive her son was in the club and that Major Taylor Project was considering instituting a grade standard for enrollment in the program.
Once all the parents had arrived, we stood around in our customary ice-breaking circle; this time, the parents had to be involved. The theme for the game was to share your name, and not your favorite fruit, but ifyou were a fruit, what fruit would you be. We tossed around the conventional, “talking” bike tube, as we transformed into artichokes, strawberries and apples.
After the intro game, Serena Lehman and Erica Hann of Cascade led an activity to engage residents in the process of helping SeaTac become a more accessible place for bikers and pedestrians. In order to accommodate for some of the parents who had Limited English Proficiency (LEP), the students led their parents around to the various questions posted on the wall.
This event allowed parents to see what goes on in bike club and the opportunity to offer their support and approval. It provided a space for parents to ask questions like, “how the heck do you get the resources to run a program like that?” The principal of Global Connections, Rick Harwood, a “blackberry,” took his time illuminating just how much Major Taylor Project adds to the school. This is a program that the students, the school and staff, and the parents can all get behind.
The group of nine bunched up, geared with new cyclocross tires on Redline bikes, ready for the Woodland Park Cyclecross Race. The air was crisp, but clear. Hundreds of people were shouting. On Sunday, Nov. 13, students in the Major Taylor program and members of Cascade staff (first Cyclocross race ever for yours truly and first race for Ed Ewing in 15 years), rode around the muddy, leaf-covered, race-track with almost 1,000 other riders of all ages.
Before the race, the students were firing up on hot cider and warm, homemade cinnamon rolls that Robin Randels brought and served. (Thanks Robin!) For those who had ridden a cyclocross race before, they knew what to expect, and enjoyed showing off how muddy they were after multiple falls. For the newbie riders, they showed up after three rounds a little cleaner; they were riding a little more carefully.
After the race, the group went to Tutta Bella on Stone Way. They played tables games and chatted with each other and staff. An hour later, with nine pizzas consumed and bodies reinvigorated, they loaded up in the 16 passenger van and headed back with new experiences in the biking world.
That Sunday in the park would not have been possible without our collective efforts…our Major Taylor community. A big thank you goes to Union Gospel Mission and to AJ Campanelli for safe transportation and guidance. Thank you to Zac and Terry of MFG for donating registration to the group. Tutta Bella offers an astounding philanthropic deal for non-profits: 50% off your total bill and the tab for nine pizzas came to a whopping $56.00. This student experience could not have happened without your support…thank you!
Major Taylor has started the school year off right! 50 students registered for the fall riding session at Global Connections and 15 students are riding at Chief Sealth. Earn-a-Bike classes are up and running, maxed out at 15 at both Global Connections and YES! Foundation. “Bike Club” popularity has grown tremendously and students are asking for more!
At the end of the first riding session last month, Major Taylor staff facilitated a reflection session where the students offered insight into the club, thoughts about where the group rides to, wanting more/less hills and project ideas for the Spring session. One particular student shared the following…“We should raise money or have a ‘bike club’ scholarship for students heading to college…” Other students along with Ride Leader David Stern, agreed and added….”perhaps the scholarship could be for a bike, a laptop, and books for college…”. Principal Rick Harwood, Math teacher AJ Campanelli, and the MTP team, concluded that this could be very significant for the students and for the project. Ideas like these will be a driving force in the future for the Major Taylor Project.
We have so many interested bikers that we had to reconstruct the entire bike cage. With plywood and old bike tires, we accommodated for 40 bikes in a 10ftx8ft space!
Last week, we bade farewell to Darcy Mullen, one of four AmeriCorps members who has worked at Cascade over the last ten months. Darcy immersed herself in the Major Taylor Project, and she did a stellar job. The remaining three AmeriCorps (Alison, Luke and Jenny) are staying on-board, temporarily, until four new members join us in October. As a footnote to that, AmeriCorps members add enormously to an organization, with their energy, ideas, enthusiasm and perspectives. If you’re looking to hire, note that many AmeriCorps stints end in August, and a fresh crew is out there, looking to bring their talents to your workplace. –M.J.
Riding from Seattle to Portland with a group of 22 high school students and 25 adults is certainly an impossible task… at least that’s what I thought when I first realized that was part of my job description upon arriving at Cascade my first day of AmeriCorps. I knew that I liked biking, and I knew that I wanted to work more with youth, so the Major Taylor AmeriCorps position was a natural fit.
I only had two simple jobs: to organize after school ride programs at select high schools in the greater Seattle area, and if the kids are motivated, offer them training opportunities with the possibility of completing the 204-mile STP. I also coordinating rides for Seattle’s Trips for Kids branch at Cascade.
Over the year I had many challenges – balancing safety with fun with groups of kids, half who want to ride fast and half who want to stay at the beach for the whole time, figuring out where to park the fifteen passenger van with a trailer full of bikes safely and securely, and then getting everything back out again, juggling multiple rides with different locations on the same day – but despite any difficulties in coordinating, every time I went on a ride with the kids (at least four days a week in the spring), I was always inspired by the positive impacts of cycling on our bike club community and on the individuals – myself included.
The highlight of my year was riding with the Major Taylor kids on the STP. Some of them had never been out of the state, and a few of them had never ridden more than 46 miles in a day. Over all, the kids were truly inspirational in how they motivated each other and worked with each other to get all the way to Chehalis and, ultimately, to Portland. Even though my year with AmeriCorps us up, I hope I get to join them on the ride next year!
The Major Taylor Project is made possible through the support of people like John — and you!
If you’d like to join John in making a tax-deductible donation for every Major Taylor kid who makes it to Portland (we expect 25 this year), please send me an email: tarrell.wright@cascadebicycleclub.org. Put “MTP STP pledge” in the subject line and enter the amount you’d like to pledge per kid in the body of the email. After the STP we’ll send you a pledge reminder with the number of kids who crossed the finish line.
Twenty-five teenagers from Seattle Urban Academy/Union Gospel Mission, Chief Sealth High School, Evergreen Campus and Global Connections High School, along with teachers, program leaders and volunteers, will bicycle 200 miles from Seattle to Portland on July 9 and 10. For many of the teens, this will be their first trip out of state and the longest bike ride of their lives. Their journey to Portland started long before the Group Health Seattle to Portland start line.
Anu Ani’s family emigrated from Nigeria in 2008 so that his father could attend school. Ani, 18 and a senior at Evergreen in White Center, has embraced cycling, saying it has offered him an opportunity to see his city in a new way. This will be his third STP.
“Riding bikes is in my blood. I love it for exercise,” Ani said. “I like to talk about what we did, where we went, what we saw. Riding STP is fun, and I don’t want to miss it because I meet a lot of people, see other people riding bikes and hear their stories. I like to hear other people’s stories. I am most excited about riding with my friends. It’s like two-day vacation.”
In early 2009, the Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation launched the Major Taylor Project to reach teens in underserved communities and provide access to the many benefits of cycling. Several students have never owned a bike, much less a bike with gears. Most have never explored their communities and know only their commute from home to school.
To prepare and train for the big event, the teens have ridden many miles around their communities, including the Flying Wheels Summer Century in east King County, Vashon Island, and the south end of Lake Washington loop.
Moises Torres, 17 and a senior at Global Connection High School Des Moines, is also back for a third STP. He says he initially got involved because his teachers and mentors were involved with cycling.
“It’s good for community and environment,” Torres said. “It’s different on a bike than in a car. Things slow down, and you get to see what’s going on around you instead of zooming by in a car. It gives me better perspective of what’s going on around me.”
Growing up in Seattle, Torres has long been interested in aviation and aerospace. After this school year, Torres is headed for the Air Force Academy.
Riding the STP exemplifies what is possible through the Major Taylor Project. The program empowers youth through bicycling by helping them establish a goal and by providing the tools and support to achieve it. The experience has a lasting impact.
Linda Ba, age 18 and salutatorian of Evergreen’s Health Sciences and Human Services High School graduating class this year, is no stranger to hard work. But cycling brought something new to her life. “I tell people that I cycle, and they’re like, ‘You do what? What is that?’ I can show it off,” Ba said. “Racing the boys is fun. It’s the same on a bike. The bikes are an equalizer, and everyone’s the same… no boys vs. the girls.”
Ba is riding in her third STP, but this year, her 15-year-old sister ZaZa is joining her for the first time.
“I feel like I need to take care of her, educate her,” she said. “I feel more responsible and I want her to have fun. I’m excited to share it with her.”
Being involved with the Major Taylor Project and bicycling has broadened Ba’s horizons. She is looking forward to college at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the fall. Still, she has a deep connection to her community.
“Every kid in White Center is talented and worth investing in,” she said.
How would she make an impact if money were no object? “I’d bring coaches, leaders, businesses that teach kids skills, invest in the arts, athletics, the high school, and the middle schools especially.”
She added: “There’s so much to do in White Center.”
About Cascade Bicycle Club
Founded in 1970, Cascade Bicycle Club is a 14,000+ member, nonprofit organization based in Seattle, Washington, serving more than half a million cyclists in the Puget Sound community. The club is operated by a volunteer Board of Directors, 28 professional staff and thousands of volunteers. More information about Cascade Bicycle Club’s advocacy, commute, education and riding programs is available online at www.cascade.org or by calling (206) 522-3222.
The Major Taylor Project was started by Cascade Bicycle Club in 2009, with initial support from King County Metro and Group Health. Named after Marshall “Major” Taylor, the turn-of-the-last-century African-American U.S. and world bicycle sprint champion, the project is focused on introducing young people from diverse communities to the sport of cycling and creating an inclusive culture of bicycling that will continue to future generations. Full program information can be found online at: http://cbcef.org/youth-major-taylor.html
INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES:
Tuesday, July 5, 9:30 a.m., Lincoln Park before Vashon Island Ride
Friday, July 8, 6:30 p.m., Cascade Bicycle Club, Magnuson Park
Saturday, July 9 6 a.m., STP start line
MEDIA CONTACT:
M.J. Kelly
Cascade Bicycle Club
Director of Communications and Marketing m.j.kelly@cascadebicycleclub.org
m: (206) 853-2188
Last Saturday, June 4, two groups of Major Taylor teens biked up the the Ballard Criterium. We had fourteen students come out in all, from three of our locations, the teens from Global Connections and the YES Foundation biked together from White Center and the ones from Chief Sealth biked from West Seattle. Thankfully Saturday was a beautiful day and the kids got to see Mt. Rainier, the Olympics, downtown Seattle, as well as the Ballard Locks.
Once in Ballard, the goal was simply to hang out, enjoy the neighborhood, and especially watch the Twilight Criterium. It was a great way to introduce the kids to some cycling culture while getting them ready for STP on the side. We watched Ed Ewing, Major Taylor Project Director, race, and all the kids were amazed that that meant riding at top speed (in a small circle) for 50 minutes. We even had time to have a picnic dinner of pizza during his race.
Cheering for the race.
Eating pizza during the race.
After all the cheering was over, the kids piled into the vans and headed home. The next challenge is Flying Wheels tomorrow. See you there!
In preparation for our busy season, we trained more Major Taylor volunteers. After going through rules and expectations for volunteers, we take them on a practice ride. My goal for our training practice ride was to give the volunteers a taste of every problematic behavior I have ever come across while leading rides with teens. That means that I get to be the kid that is breaking all the rules (remember: there are no bad kids, only bad actions).
I started off easy, just a little swerving here and there, but then I was stopping suddenly, interrupting everyone, riding off on my own, watching soccer games, walking uphill in the middle of the road, taking pictures while on the bike, calling another ride leader on the road, blowing through stop signs, and anything else that I could think of.
Luckily, the people I was working with were top notch and didn’t crack under the pressure of everything going wrong in one 30 minute period (I think that it helped that it was sunny). They’re all prepared to be volunteers with the Major Taylor Clubs and to demonstrate and encourage safe riding skills to the next generation.
In the past few weeks, we have finally gotten our final two Major Taylor Clubs up and running, pulling the number of full-time clubs up to five. Thanks to a recent donation of bikes from Raleigh, we are now riding with our club from Union Gospel Mission and the Seattle Urban Academy.
I arrived the first day, and walked around with the youth program director of UGM to round up the kids who were planning to take on our bike experiment. Before we got started with our safety information, the conversation immediately turned to the STP and how none of them could imagine riding that far. Luckily they have a strong community, and they know people who have actually completed it – one of the benefits of having the Major Taylor Project on its third consecutive year.
After we went over safety, we brought out the brand new bikes and the faces lit up. It was the same when we started a few weeks ago at Chief Sealth International. At that school, we had a brand new set of Redline Bicycles and when we pulled up in the van the kids were extremely excited about the prospect of riding brand new bikes and enjoying the sunshine!
Updates on our training progress can be found here as we approach our goal of riding from Seattle to Portland.
The van laden down with our newly constructed Raleighs! Thanks to the team at Recycled Cycles the new bikes were built well and in no time at all!
Cascade Bicycle Club is a non-profit organization creating more livable communities by promoting health & recreation through bicycle activities, advocacy, & education.
