Who are Kansas City’s champions for bicycling? The BBC says it’s the Major Taylor Cycling Club! This welcoming and diverse bike club builds real community in Kansas City.
In 2008, reporters from the BBC came to Kansas City to find out what it’s like to bike in America’s worst city in America for cycling. They came back in 2026 to find new, safer infrastructure and a strong bicycling community. We caught up with some of the bike groups featured on the latest BBC story and asked them to share their vision of a safer, happier, healthier Kansas City. Here’s Raissa Johnson of the Major Taylor Cycling Club of Kansas City, and stay tuned for the next feature in our series!
Major Taylor Cycling Club of Kansas City
Founded: 2005
Club member interviewed: Raissa Johnson
What is meaningful about the work you do with the Major Taylor Cycling Club?
Raissa: The work I do with Major Taylor is particularly meaningful for two primary reasons. Firstly, I believe that the group is one of the most welcoming and diverse organized rides in Kansas City, which means we get the opportunity to be an entryway into the KC cycling scene for newer folks.
Secondly, members of the group create meaningful relationships with one another both on and off of the bike, and I think we can all benefit from a bit more genuine, in-person connection these days. As a bonus third reason: it's FUN!
MTCCKC rode with the BBC reporters, showing off Kansas City's most famous landmarks
What is something you want for the future of safer streets/biking in KC?
Raissa: Something I want for the future of safer streets and biking in KC is involvement from vulnerable road users earlier in the planning process, and for any feedback provided to be taken seriously.
It seems that much of the infrastructure put into place recently has been more of an afterthought of a needed "road diet," and not a true part of the "road diet." Take, for example, the new bike lanes on Broadway. While I know that the city solicited opinions on the best options, the worst option appears to have been implemented. There was a need for a road diet, so the street was narrowed and a nearly-unusable bike lane thrown in as a way to take up the space. But the bike lane is unsafe and no one likes it, whether they're a driver or a cyclist.
In addition, there is a significant need for more thoughtful connections. Many of the existing bike lanes (and cycletracks, in particular) dump users out into the middle of a road, likely on the wrong side of the street without a safe way to cross to the correct side. These types of changes take effort, but they're meaningful!
Want to ride with Major Taylor? Click here to join their Facebook group
The Movement Builders series is inspired by "The Kansas City cycling revolution" episode of The Documentary Podcast from the BBC. Eighteen years ago, the reporters were warned to “get [their] affairs in order,” before bicycling in Kansas City because there were only six miles of bike lanes spread across the entire Kansas City metro. This time, the reporters found miles of new, protected bike lanes, ambitious programs like Vision Zero, energized ride groups, passionate volunteers and advocates, and happy teenagers riding bikes together after school.
Click here to listen to the 2008 story, and then click here to listen to the 2026 story