Creakyknees

Don't know about your area but around here the race promoters tell me that crit courses are very difficult to find, and expensive to close / permit.

For years, I've shortcutted thru a cemetery on one of my regular routes. Nice quiet empty roads, laid out in a pleasing, rolling park-like area... perfect for a crit course, except for that obvious "what will people think" problem.

Then randomly I saw this article about how cemeteries used to be more like public parks:

Our First Public Parks: The Forgotten History of Cemeteries - The Atlantic

And this one:

https://cityparksblog.org/2010/12/01...or-the-living/

So I start to thinking, hey, this could be a win for the cemetery: marketing to high income fatty masters who are the right age to sell pre-need services to.

Just throwing it out there...

Voodoo76

I used to train in one occasionally. Had a 1K lap with 4 corners. Nice pavement, clean apex's and no traffic.

topflightpro

I think it's a great idea and you should definitely pursue it and let us know how it goes.

That said, I would not expect many cemeteries to be open to it. They've become places where people come for peace and quiet and to mourn. I'm not sure how mourners would feel being surrounded by bike races. Also, there is the unpredictability of death. You never know when a funeral may need to be held, so closing down the cemetery for a bike race may not be feasible.

gsteinb

Yeah. Imagine your loved one died and there were guys in Lycra peeing along tree line. It may be one thing to use it for your run, but another for even a modest organized event.

bikemig 

Maybe the cemetery can give the race promotors a discount if anyone at the race ends up needing their services . . .

hack

plot primes

topflightpro

Headstones are pretty expensive. I wouldn't mind winning one of those in a prime. Or maybe you could even bring in a Funeral Home as the main sponsor.

YMCA

Had a friend who used a cemetery for his quick interval rides, but no way would I take a cycling group in there. Someone is always visiting a grave and that peace should not be upstaged by noisy sportsters.

katzenfinch

Inconsiderate cyclists caused Indianapolis’ largest cemetery to establish some restrictive rules, which IndyCog, the local advocacy group, scrambled to moderate. Biking is still banned on Memorial Day and Veterans’ Day, which is unfortunate.

Crown Hill Cemetery puts brakes on cyclists

CliffordK

Not a "race", but an annual hill climb ride.

https://ridewithgps.com/ambassador_r...ost-portlandia

It starts out with a good climb through a cemetery.

The entire route, however, is done on open public roads. Since the event organizing is a bit casual (no fees), I doubt there are significant attempts to get permission.

Astrozombie

I have one on a hill here and I thought how it could be a little Laguna Seca with a re-pave.

spectastic

i also vote no.

but I suppose it depends on how frequent it's visited, and how attractive the venue is.

CliffordK

It is only one day a year.

As mentioned, the Portland ride goes through and around a cemetery. But, no rowdy crowds... just a bunch of insane cyclists.

Personally I'm not one to hang out around graveyards and try to commune with the dead. But, one of our local graveyards have an "issue" that the local deer love to eat funeral bouquets. Our family has always been avid outdoors people, and decided that it is just OK. If any dead were looking up from the grave, they'd love to see the deer coming past for a little nip.

A large bike race could be a little more rambunctious. However, if I was a ghost haunting my own grave, that would be the hilight of my year.

Publicize the race, so people would be able to choose whether they wanted to come or stay away. Even let the funeral homes know about the race. Some families may choose to conduct funerals on race day, even delaying the funerals for months to do it on race day. Others may choose to work around it. One could imagine very different types of funerals.

Some of the older cemeteries can be strapped for cash, and a bike race could be an excellent fund raiser, and would also bring people in. Heck, I might even visit my grandmother's grave once a year if there was a bike race around the cemetery.

canuckbelle

One thing to consider: cemeteries are often looking for ways to bring in cashflow...so they might be welcome to it. Just be up front with what it would entail.

mattm

Yeah, no.

I don't see how it could be any cheaper or more convenient than your local abandoned-on-the-weekend business park.

Parking for one thing would be an issue, not to mention the idea of someone celebrating a win next to a bunch of graves.. I'd rather celebrate a win next to someone's failing career.

Ygduf

hard to find the right combination of headstones to make a decent podium too

ElJamoquio

What cyclists REALLY need is another way to alienate the rest of the population.

Creakyknees

lol at some of the responses... just an idea guys, thanks for the feedback.

FBinNY 

The biggest obstacle to using a cemetery as a venue for a crit is the calendar. Weekends are prime time for family to visit the graves of their loved ones, and I seriously doubt that any manager would be dumb enough to close sections for any reason on a weekend.

However, there are some large historical cemeteries, where the graves are mostly older, and visitor traffic low. It might be possible to get a permit for an evening race at one of those.