From the foreword to Marshall Taylor s autobiography, The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World
Marshall Major Taylor s exploits on the bicycle tracks of three continents are legend. From 1898 to 1904 he was indeed the fastest bicycle rider in the world. In 1899 he set seven world records in the quarter-mile, the one-third-mile, the half-mile, the two-thirds-mile, the three-quarter-mile, the mile and the two-mile.
He did the mile (from a standing start) in 1.41, a record that stood for 28 years. He did the paced mile (behind a five-man windbreaker bike) in 1.31 and in 1.22 behind a motorcycle pacer.
He also raced and won in the longer meets two-mile, five-mile, etc. He even once competed in a grueling six-day race at Madison Square Garden and came in eighth, having logged 1,732 miles over the 142 hours of competition.