Category: Uncategorized
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Major Taylor, World Champion Cyclist
by Grace Kostrzebski Breaking records and racing to the finish line despite many challenges, Major Taylor became the first African American athlete to have global fame – for his skill in cycling! Born in 1878 to a Civil War veteran and named Marshall Walter Taylor, his talent for cycling became obvious when he was still…
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Booker T. Washington at Christiansburg Institute
February 6, 2025 In February, Bike 76 VA will recognize Black History Month with a series of posts exploring themes along Route 76 related to the experience of African Americans along Route 76 and across the centuries. Booker T. Washington, one of the leading African American public figures of the early twentieth century, has several…
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1876
January 30, 2025Tom Ewing The year 1876 marked one hundred years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Across the United States, celebrations of the event included parades, picnics, and ceremonial firing of cannons. The year 1876 also marked an important milestone in the history of cycling in America. As…
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Dear Dr Bicycle
January 23, 2025 Dear Dr. Bicycle The history of the Bikecentennial goes back to the year 1973 when Greg Siple, June Siple, Dan Burden, and Lyn Burden first began planning for a transcontinental ride to celebrate America’s bicentennial in 1976. During the years leading up to the coordinated ride, the organizers sought to bring these…
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Fincastle Resolutions
January 16, 2025 The 200th anniversary of the Fincastle Resolutions, adopted on January 20, 1775, was celebrated with a dramatic reading, re-enactments in period clothing, and patriotic music, as illustrated by the photographs below from the January 20, 1975 issue of Southwest Times, published in Pulaski. Fifty years later, the 250th anniversary of the Fincastle…
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President Carter & Bicycles
January 9, 2025 The year of the Bikecentennial, 1976, is perhaps best known in American history for the election of President Jimmy Carter. The campaign during the year occurred against the backdrop of the celebration of 200 years since 1776, as illustrated by this photograph of candidate Carter wearing a “Bicentennial cap.” President Jimmy Carter…
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Hello World
Tom Ewing, January 2, 2025 This project has many points of origin, some of which will be explored in this blog in the months leading up to 2026. One point of origin is a four mile section of Route 76 immediately north of Blacksburg, Virginia, where Virginia Tech is located. Because this section is just…
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10. Shannon Hill
Episode 1: Shannon Hill (Eastbound 0; Westbound 550) Script (link) Readings (link) Illustrations (link) Themes (link) Related Episodes (link) Related resources (link)
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Bikecentennial Route 76 in Virginia
