A way to school. A lifelong sport.
The solution to Detroit's transportation crisis.
Major Taylor Michigan teaches kids to ride, builds bike buses that get them to class, and gives adults a way to work. All of it runs along the 27.5-mile Joe Louis Greenway, right past their front doors.
Recognized & supported by
The problem
Detroit kids are missing school because they're missing transportation.
61%
of Detroit students are chronically absent from school, among the highest rates in the country.
80%
of Detroit schoolchildren do not have access to a school bus.
1/3
of Detroit households don't have a working car, and the ones that do spend more on it than rent.
2.5mi
The average distance an elementary schoolchild has to walk to school due to School of Choice.
The solution
Major Taylor has the solution:
Bikes.The Greenway
Detroit's 27.5-mile Joe Louis Greenway is perfect: it does not allow cars and connects neighborhoods to schools all across the city.
Bike Buses
A bike bus is a group of kids riding to school together, led by trained adults. It's safer than walking, more reliable than the bus.
Six Programs
From a preschooler's first balance bike to a commuter bike for a parent who needs a reliable way to work, our programs serve kids and adults alike.
A sport that lasts a lifetime. Inspired by a historic hero.
Every kid we teach learns more than how to ride. They learn that cycling is a sport with athletes, history, and a legacy worth carrying. We are named for Marshall "Major" Taylor, the Black cycling champion who held world records in 1899 and never got the recognition he earned. Our work is one way of giving that history back to the kids who should have had it all along.
Our vision for the Joe Louis Greenway
The Joe Louis Greenway is a car-free corridor running through Detroit, Hamtramck, Highland Park, and dozens of neighborhoods in between. It connects schools to homes, homes to workplaces, and neighborhoods to each other. It is the safest way to get across the city. Most people who live a block from it do not know it is there. We are changing that: every program we run, every bike rack we install, every kid we train is one more piece of a larger plan to make the Greenway the spine of how Detroit moves.
Sponsor a kid. Sponsor a school. Sponsor a program.
Help us reach our goals. Help us wipe out transportation insecurity in Detroit. There's a better way, and it starts with us.
News & Events
Noble Elementary-Middle School Celebrates New Bike Racks with Ribbon Cutting
Noble Elementary-Middle School now has 15 brand-new bike racks, thanks to Major Taylor Michigan Cycling Advocacy. The donation and installation of the bike racks was part of Major Taylor’s “Operation: Rack and Roll” program, which aims to reduce transportation insecurity in Detroit by providing bike racks to schools.
Read MoreFifteen Racks. Thirty Bikes. One Fewer Reason to Miss School.
Operation Rack & Roll lands at Noble Elementary-Middle School: fifteen custom racks, thirty secure spaces, and one fewer reason for a Detroit kid to miss school.
Read MoreMarco Speeks Discusses Major Taylor Day and Expanding His Legacy Nationwide
Marco Speeks, founder of Major Taylor Michigan Cycling Advocacy, has won the 2026 Trailblazer Award — and talked with the…
Read More