Close to 1,000 bicyclists will be rolling into Greenwood on Friday for a weekend of exercise, community and a tribute to cycling champion Major Taylor as Bikes, Blues & Bayous celebrates its 15th year.
“Cyclists can expect a party on two wheels,” Richard Beattie, founder of the event, said. Stops along the ride will have snacks such as pimento cheese sandwiches and pickle juice, among other things, for cyclists.
Riders may also expect to run into characters themed after those in the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and to participate in a post-ride party hosted by the Major Taylor Cycling clubs.
Additionally, riders will be provided with the opportunity to learn some history.
This year’s event is themed around Marshall Walter “Major” Taylor, the first Black American world champion in any sport. He was the world cycling champion in 1899 and now has various cycling clubs named after him.
The first event of the weekend will be a discussion by Washington Post journalist Michael Kranish about his book “The World’s Fastest Man,” a chronicle of Taylor’s life and accomplishments as a Black male athlete in Jim Crow America.
Kranish will be at Turnrow Book Co. from 5-6:30 p.m. Friday. He will spend that time discussing his book, fielding questions from the audience, and signing copies of his book.
On Saturday, members from the Major Taylor clubs in Memphis and Jackson will be participating in this year’s ride, which will start at 7 a.m. on Main Street.
On Saturday, riders will choose among four rides of 62, 46, 20 and 10 miles.
Michael Williamson, president of the Major Taylor Cycling Club in Memphis, thinks it’s amazing that this year’s ride pays tribute to Taylor.
“We are riding through Money, Mississippi, where everyone is familiar with the infamous Emmett Till story, and in the same ride we are going to celebrate the first Black American world champion in any sport,” he said. “I think it’s wonderful, and I think it’s amazing!”
Cyclists will be treated to a short film documentary about Taylor’s life Saturday afternoon at the Museum of the Mississippi Delta.
Beattie discovered Taylor through the members of the Money Road Cycling Club, and a recent read over Christmas inspired him to do a tribute to Taylor for this year’s ride.
“His story has inspired me, and I think it will inspire others,” he said.
Richard Beattie, founder of Bikes, Blues & Bayous, models the cyclist’s shirt and participant medal from this year’s event. (By Katherine Parker)
The story of Bikes, Blues & Bayous is also inspirational.
Bikes, Blues & Bayous originally began because of a desire to “outdo Rolling Fork, Mississippi,” Beattie said. He was on a bike ride in 2006 with about 25 other people in Rolling Fork.
“We looked at each other and thought, ‘If we have 25 people in Rolling Fork for a bike ride, we could probably have 50 or 75 in Greenwood,’” he said. The inaugural ride was in 2008 and pulled about 200 people.
Greenwood has seen five times that number for the past five years, according to Beattie.
He is stepping down from his more active position in organizing and managing Bikes, Blues & Bayous after serving as a founding member for the past 15 years.
“Time has worn on me a little bit, and I want it to go on well beyond me,” he said. Beattie, now 70, was 56 years old when he helped spearhead the event.
Beattie is also stepping into a more advisory role for Bikes, Blues & Bayous in anticipation of beginning work on the C&G Rail Trail.
“The C&G rail trail project is something that will take a lot of my time, and I want to devote more energy to it,” he said.
When completed, the trail from Greenwood to West Point would be Mississippi’s longest rail trail.
“The C&G Rail Trail would give us the safest possible route for people around here to ride bicycles,” Beattie said. Serious discussion and planning are in progress.
A booth will be set up at the Bikes, Blues & Bayous event to offer further information and raise awareness of the trail. Beattie hopes this will be a draw for even more bicycle tourism in the future.
Over the past five years, about 40% of those cyclists have been from out of state, Beattie said.
According to a study completed by Mississippi State University several years ago, Bikes, Blues & Bayous brings in a revenue of
$1.3 million.
But according to Beattie and Beth Stevens, executive director of the Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce, the Delta’s culture of hospitality is what keeps cyclists rolling into town.
“We have riders who come back here year after year and brag about it, who have been coming here 10 years,” Beattie said.
“All of the people who come to this event love our hospitality. That’s the biggest thing that keeps them coming back,” Stevens added.
A lagniappe this year only will be a public fireworks show at 9 p.m. Friday between the downtown bridges over the Yazoo River. The show was intended for the community’s annual Stars & Stripes celebration on June 30, but that event was rained out.
Beattie is hoping Bikes, Blues & Bayous, in addition to bringing a historical and economic boon to Greenwood, will help inspire younger generations to cycle.
“I grew up on a bicycle. People ask me when I started riding bikes, and I tell them 1958. Most folks weren’t even born at that time,” he said.
According to Beattie, kids do everything else but bike these days. “We’re trying to inspire the next generation of cyclists,” he said.
Registration for Bikes Blues & Bayous is open from 1 until 7 p.m. Friday, and the event will wind down Sunday with brunch at The Vine restaurant in Greenwood.
- Contact Katherine Parker at 662-581-7239 or kparker@gwcommonwealth.com.
SCHEDULE
Friday
1-7 p.m.: Packet pickup and the final chance to register to ride, both at the Historic Elks Building on Washington and Main streets.
5-6:30 p.m.: Riders and other members of the public are invited to a gathering at Howard Street’s Turnrow Book Co. Washington Post journalist Michael Kranish will hold a discussion his book, “The World’s Fastest Man.” The books chronicles the life of Major Taylor, a cyclist who was the first Black American to win a world championship.
Saturday
From about 6:30 a.m. until 7:10 a.m., riders will pack Main Street from Front Street south to Johnson Street.
7 a.m.: The 62-mile ride will begin and travel south down U.S. 49, turn west at Rising Sun, cross the Hooper-Sanders Bridge and continue from there to Itta Bena, Schlater, and Minter City. Riders will return to Greenwood on Money Road.
Immediately following the first launch. Cyclists on the 42-, 20- and 10-mile rides will travel through downtown Greenwood from Main Street, cross Keesler Bridge onto Grand Boulevard and head north on Money Road. They will return the way they came.
