Six Days

“Six Days” is about Major Taylor participating in his first professional race, a six-day endurance race at Madison Square Garden in 1896. He was competing by himself against teams of two, and he was the only sprinter at the grueling endurance event. By the end of the race, he was hallucinating, claiming, “I cannot go on with safety, for there is a man chasing me around the ring with a knife in his hand.”

While researching for the paper, I encountered an excerpt from the final chapter of Major Taylor’s autobiography, The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World. In the excerpt, he advises young athletes who had written him letters. This particular chapter feels like a letter to me, another young black cyclist in what is still a predominantly white sport, 98 years later. Major Taylor, in his letter, advocates for “Good Habits and Clean Living” and humility. He believes they distinguish between a great, physically gifted cyclist and a true champion. He believed in self-improvement, fair play, and non-violence. I take quotes from this passage and newspaper snippets in the articles I researched to use as his internal thoughts while racing.