The Columbus = Dispatch : Life cycles

Life cycles

Biking club has drawn riders for almost 30 years =

Monday, August 27, 2007 3:21 AM

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Club members Robert Bradley, left, and John Tolbert

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Club members Robert Bradley, left, and John Tolbert

Members of the Major Taylor Bike Group gather before their = weekly ride from Three Creeks Metro Park in Groveport.

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JAMES D. DeCAMPDispatch photos

Members of the Major Taylor Bike Group gather before their weekly = ride from=20 Three Creeks Metro Park in Groveport.

Major Taylor Bike Group members on a weekly afternoon = ride

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james D. DeCAMPDispatch

Major Taylor Bike Group members on a weekly afternoon = ride

Major Taylor around the time of his marriage, circa 1902

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Major Taylor around the time of his marriage, circa = 1902

If you go

The third annual Long Street Tour, a day of cycling and fitness = activities,=20 will take place Saturday in the King-Long Street District near the = Lincoln=20 Theater, 771 E. Long St. Events will include the Major Taylor = Commemorative Bike=20 Tour along with wellness walks, entertainment and health screenings; = free=20 health-related activities will be offered on the hour throughout the = day. Tour=20 registration, starting at 6:30 a.m., costs $10. For more information, = call=20 614-531-2700 or visit http://www.longstreettour.com/.

On a recent afternoon, cyclist Kevin McFadden shifted = gears=20 before ever mounting his red Cinelli at a Groveport park.

Concerns and aggravations from the real world began to = disappear=20 as he eased his Ford Explorer into a parking lot and spotted members of = the=20 Major Taylor Bike Group.

They shook hands, exchanged hugs and flashed smiles as = bright as=20 reflectors.

"You want to know how long the Major Taylors have been = around?"=20 asked McFadden, 39, of Westerville, adjusting his helmet.

"I took a 13-year break from the group, moved to = Michigan,=20 started a family, came back, and they're still the same: same people, = same=20 foolishness, same energy, same brotherhood."

The Major Taylors, formed 28 years ago, still ride

with the joy of a child pedaling without training wheels for the = first=20 time.

During the third annual Long Street Tour, a day of cycling and = fitness events=20 on Saturday, members will host rides of 10, 30 and 62 miles.

Ties to fitness and the urban community make them a natural fit for = the=20 event, hosted by the Long Street Businessmen's Association with = corporate=20 sponsors.

The eclectic, 35-member group is named for pioneering black cyclist = Marshall=20 "Major" Taylor, an Indiana native. It includes men and women from = throughout=20 central Ohio.

"One of the reasons we have sustained ourselves over the years is we = don't=20 make race or gender an issue," said founder Robert Bradley, 63, of = Columbus, the=20 oldest member.

"We only care about one thing: 'Can you roll?' "

Eight months a year, the cyclists roll wherever the road takes = them.

They meet Wednesdays at Three Creeks Metro Park in Groveport for a = 20- to=20 25-mile ride and participate in regional and national tours.

Each spring, members traverse the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway from = North=20 Carolina. They conclude the season in October with the Sea Gull Century = ride in=20 Maryland, where they reunite with Major Taylor affiliates from = throughout the=20 country.

"Major Taylor is an inspirational figure," said Stanford Straughter, = 61, of=20 Columbus.

Taylor won world cycling titles in the late 1800s and early 1900s, = becoming=20 just the second black world champion in a sport, after boxer George = Dixon.

Because of his Christian upbringing, Taylor refused to race on = Sundays for=20 many years. He died in 1932.

The Major Taylor Velodrome in Indianapolis is known in cycling = circles as a=20 world-class bike-racing facility.

"We hope to keep his legend alive by riding in his honor," Straughter = said.

Before their recent outing, members gathered in a circle.

Chapter President George Harper, 58, led a prayer for safe passage. = Then the=20 Columbus resident gave thanks for a strong turnout of 22 riders on a = muggy=20 August afternoon.

"OK," he said, "let's roll."

The group rode through Groveport and along rolling, rural roadways in = Fairfield County.

"Car back," a member shouted when a vehicle approached from the = rear.

"Pothole," another yelled to alert riders behind him.

Ten miles into the journey, one cyclist on his first ride lost = control on=20 loose gravel. He hit the ground but suffered little more than a scraped=20 knee.

"I wiped out a year ago on the (Three Creeks) trail," said Craig = Fields, 36.=20 "Hey, it happens to everybody."

Danger aside, riders rave about the health benefits of cycling.

They love the two-hour cardio workout, which varies with the course, = and the=20 lack of stress on their knees.

"I was getting to the point where I couldn't play tennis anymore," = said Dan=20 Cunningham, 56, of Columbus.

"Cycling is a lot easier on my lower body."

Cunningham represents the old guard: He joined the Major Taylors at = the=20 start.

Friendship binds the cyclists, several members said -- even when = other=20 responsibilities occasionally scatter them.

His job took Cunningham to Philadelphia for several years, but he = faithfully=20 returned each spring to drive their equipment truck for the Tour of the = Scioto=20 River Valley -- a two-day, 200-mile trip from Columbus to Portsmouth and = back.

"They will do anything for anybody," said Jed Rumora, 49, of = Pataskala.

"I broke my collarbone in 2004, and some of the guys came out to my = house and=20 helped clean it for a party I was having."

Rumora named his son Pate -- the youngest rider, at 14 -- after = fellow member=20 Lloyd Pate, 61, of Columbus.

"It was really humbling," said Pate, a running back for the Buffalo = Bills in=20 1970.

"We have been through so much over the years."

Harper smiled as he discussed the biggest change in their makeup.

"Now there are women out here kicking our butts," he said.

After their recent ride, the sweaty cyclists bid farewell for another = week.

Karen Rumora, 20, of Pickerington -- among six women in the Major = Taylor=20 group -- marveled at the camaraderie.

"These are the greatest group of human beings I've ever been involved = with,"=20 she said. "They treat you like family."

treed@dispatch.com

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