Before sunrise early Saturday morning in September, bicyclists from across the tri-county area, including Major Taylor Cycling Club members from Memphis, Tennessee, arrive at The Bike Crossing in Ridgeland. 

Arree Williams, Soul City Cycling president, is leading the group of 30 or so riders dressed in colorful, skin-clinging cycling uniforms. Williams shares safety reminders with the group as they double check gear and store away hydration sources and snacks. 

The excitement is palpable as riders ready to complete a morning ride that will course 44 or 53 miles, depending on riding experience. The course runs through a section of Ridgeland, along the Natchez Trace Parkway, then deeper into Madison County.

“I started riding back in 2010,” said Williams. “Back then, there really weren’t a lot of Black people running and biking. I would be out on my bike and noticed I rarely, if ever, saw anybody who looked like me on a bike. If I did, I’d turn around and make my way to them asking all kinds of questions. That’s exactly how I met Cedrick Chaffee. I met his wife Denise too. Before long, we were riding together.” 

Cedrick Chaffee of Clinton is the director of membership for Soul City Cycling. He was a member of the Memphis-based Black Men Run, but running on pavement became hard on his knees. And although he confesses to missing running, he turned to cycling.

“He introduced me to several other riders,” said Williams of Chaffee. “Soul City Cycling was established in August of 2021. From a community standpoint, COVID played an unexpected part in it too. People were looking for a way to escape the seemingly endless sheltering in place, the working and schooling from home, and all that came with that. We got outside. People started buying bicycles and that includes the African American community.”

After an unpleasant riding experience, Chaffee’s wife Denise, discussed Major Taylor Cycling Clubs with her husband and a few friends.

Marshall Walter “Major” Taylor was a road and track bicyclist, and the first African American cycling champion. Taylor, who was internationally famous in the 1800s, won the International Cycling Association (ICA) Track Cycling World Championship in 1899. 

His life and accomplishments are the inspiration for cycling clubs that bear his name and the year 1899 around the world.

“That’s how Soul City Cycling was born,” she said.

“We want to encourage people to get out on bikes,” said Williams, after sharing the morning’s route with the group of riders. “Come out and see what we’re all about. Everybody is welcome. I don’t call us a club, we’re a community. One big, happy, diverse community.”

Contact Soul City Cycling: 

Address: P.O. Box 2670
Ridgeland,  MS 39158

Phone: (601) 942-9532

Instagram: soul_citycycling