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Cyclo-Cemeteries?
The Roanoke Cycling Organization in partnership with the National Cemetery Board (NCB) is using the Roanoke Valley as the pilot program for the first cyclist cemetery burial park.
The concept is to preserve green open space by providing burial services as any other cemetery. What makes this concept so unique? “Most cemeteries are filled with tombstones and resting souls. The only activity in a cemetery is a burial or visitation”, explains RCO Burial Park Coordinator and Race Director, Ron Glowczynski. He continues, “With a cyclist burial park, not only would cyclists be buried on the same grounds, local cyclists can ride and race there as well.”
The RCO plan is to build the park in such a way that paved roads and mountain bike trails can be utilized for recreation as well as races.
With the decline of road races on the calendar each year (due to the cost of road closures, local government permits and police), the RCO has desired to secure land to hold such events. The cost of land in any region is expensive and bike races alone would not cover any such expense. The revenues from the sales of burial plots would not only secure the land, but keep the land maintained for the eternal residents and bike racing.
“Some may think this plan is morbid”, says Glowczynski. He chuckles, “but, the cyclists and others who we have polled were in favor of the idea. Most of them didn’t mind a race being held on the property since they would be dead and buried anyway!”
The RCO has a contract on property in Roanoke County with plans for up to 8 miles for a intricate paved road system and 10 miles of singletrack trails. The project is scheduled to be completed in fall of 2007 in hopes of hosting USCF Cyclocross Championships.
Visit
www.roanokecycling.org for any future updates or to reserve your plot of racing history. |
