Major Taylor Project

Founded in 2008, Cascade Bicycle Club’s Major Taylor Project (MTP) breaks down barriers to cycling for youth of color in King and Pierce County. 

We believe that bicycling is a form of exercise that fosters not only healthy bodies and minds but also healthy communities. We bring free-of-cost bicycle education and youth development programming to students in middle and high school.

Our namesake comes from Marshall “Major” Taylor – a Black American cycling champion who broke racial barriers on his path to winning world championships and celebrity as a track cyclist during the Jim Crow Era in America. 

In his legacy, we seek to break down racial barriers for youth in our region.

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What We Do

• Active Transportation
  • Thanks largely to Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) funding through the Climate Commitment Act, our weekly after school bicycle clubs enable young people to learn how to safely navigate their neighborhoods. Youth who participate in our clubs and complete the Teens Biking to Destinations Curriculum have an opportunity to receive a bicycle, helmet, lock, and light.
• Job Readiness
  • Thanks to generous support from foundry10, young people who excel in our clubs are also invited to apply to be MTP interns. This initiative gives youth job training through a paid opportunity, enabling youth to get a foothold in the bicycle industry via ride leading, bicycle maintenance training, community advocacy, and ride/event planning.
• Recreational Riding
  • Thanks to generous donations from our community and Cascade Bicycle Club event registration fees such as the Ride for Major Taylor, MTP students also have the opportunity to learn other cycling disciplines including gravel rides, beginning mountain biking, cyclocross, and endurance riding like the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic. 

Who We Serve

The Major Taylor Project reaches 200 youth annually in middle and high schools in central and south King County and in Pierce County. In these areas, residents speak over 70 languages and represent over 80 nationalities. Our club locations and recruitment efforts are intentionally established to reach students of historically marginalized backgrounds where we work together to build community and autonomy and to have fun. 

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• Ride Leaders are part-time Cascade staff members who lead after-school club days. They are responsible for orienting and supervising volunteers; planning, coordinating, and implementing weekly rides; facilitating program activities and working with school partners and Cascade to ensure safe and adequate equipment is equitably distributed to your assigned school. Program activities may include, but are not limited to: teaching bicycle skills and leading supplemental lessons/activities.
• Volunteers attend Major Taylor Program after-school clubs and ensure students are safe, supported, and having fun! We are looking for dedicated volunteers who can commit to a weekly shift of 2-3 hours for our after-school bike clubs (ideally for a whole school-year, but we welcome volunteers who are available for a single quarter as well). Volunteers assist Ride Leaders in teaching the students the basics of safe cycling, group riding, and so much more! 

Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age, be able to provide your own bicycle and helmet, and have experience riding in groups or basic cycling knowledge.

As an added bonus, all of our volunteers are eligible for comped registration for nearly all of our major rides, starting with as little as 6 hours of volunteer time. Read more on our Volunteer Benefits page. 

From the Students

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“MTP is silly, engaging, social, inclusive, and everyone is there to help and support you with whatever you need. Everyone is at different paces but staff is there to help, wherever you're at.

– MTP student at Tyee High School

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“Hopefully I can carry on the legacy of Major Taylor and have his memory live on in other people by accomplishing STP.”

– Daya, MTP Tacoma (first on the left)