We write as members of the Mid-Atlantic bicycle racing community — racers, coaches, officials, club members, families, volunteers, and supporters — to express our strong support for the continued operation and long-term preservation of the Lisa Mary Martin Memorial Greenbelt Park Training Race Series, commonly known as the Greenbelt Park Training Race.

For the Mid-Atlantic racing community, Greenbelt is not just another event on the calendar. It is one of the defining institutions of local bicycle racing. Riders look forward to it all year. New racers use it to learn how to race safely. Experienced racers use it to sharpen their skills. Clubs use it to mentor developing riders. Officials use it as a familiar, controlled environment to support well-run competition. For many people in our community, Greenbelt is where they first learned how to pin on a number, ride safely in a field, corner at speed, follow instructions from officials, and become part of the racing community.

The Greenbelt Park Training Race Series has been operating for decades and, over that time, it has become one of the most recognizable and beloved training race series in the Mid-Atlantic. It is widely known beyond the immediate Washington, DC area because of its longevity, accessibility, race quality, and unique role in developing riders.

The value of this series is difficult to overstate. Road racing is not a skill that can be learned safely on open roads, in unstructured group rides, or through individual training alone. Riders need controlled environments where they can practice pack skills, cornering, positioning, pacing, communication, and race decision-making under the supervision of experienced race directors and licensed officials. Greenbelt provides that environment in a way that no other local venue does.

The event is also structured with safety and accountability at its core. It is sanctioned by USA Cycling and operated under USA Cycling rules and procedures. USA Cycling-sanctioned traditional races require licensed officials, established competition rules, rider licensing, structured fields, and formal event oversight. Greenbelt is not an informal ride or unsupervised gathering. It is an organized, permitted, insured, rules-based athletic event run by experienced members of the cycling community.

We fully respect that the National Park Service must balance public access, visitor experience, environmental stewardship, operational capacity, and safety. We also recognize that Greenbelt Park is a treasured public resource. The cycling community’s request is not for special treatment at the expense of the park or other users. It is for a workable, predictable, and collaborative permitting framework that allows this long-standing public recreation use to continue responsibly.

In recent years, the series has become increasingly difficult to sustain, with the calendar reduced to roughly four scheduled occurrences in some years. Because outdoor cycling events are highly weather-dependent, a four-race calendar can quickly become a two-race or even one-race season when storms, rain, poor visibility, or unsafe road conditions force cancellations. When those dates cannot be rescheduled, the community loses not only racing opportunities, but also the structured training and development pathway that Greenbelt uniquely provides.

We respectfully ask NPS to work with the race directors and local cycling community to support a more durable annual schedule for the Greenbelt Park Training Race Series. Ideally, this would include:

1. A multi-date permit that allows a meaningful series, preferably closer to the historic range of six to ten dates or more.
2. A clear and practical process for weather-related postponements and rescheduled dates.
3. A consistent annual planning timeline so race directors, officials, volunteers, and participants can prepare responsibly.
4. Continued coordination on course use, timing, signage, field limits, marshal placement, parking, communications, and any other operational details needed to protect park resources and visitor experience.
5. A collaborative review process after each season to address concerns and improve the event rather than reducing or jeopardizing it.

Greenbelt is not an outlier in the broader landscape of American bicycle racing. Similar park-based race series operate successfully in other major metropolitan areas. The Century Road Club Association runs a 12-race club series in Central Park in New York City. Richmond’s Bryan Park Training Series runs weekly from May through September. Prospect Park in Brooklyn hosts USA Cycling-sanctioned racing. Houston’s Memorial Park has hosted a weekly summer criterium series. These examples show that, with the right permitting structure and experienced organizers, park-based cycling race series can coexist with public recreation, safety expectations, and responsible park management.

We believe the Greenbelt Park Training Race Series can follow this model, and is exactly the kind of community-based, organized, health-promoting, and mission-compatible recreational use that public parks should be able to support. We also believe that preserving this series is in the best interest of both the park and the community when managed through a clear, reasonable, and collaborative process.

We respectfully urge the National Park Service to continue permitting the Lisa Mary Martin Memorial Greenbelt Park Training Race Series and to work with the race directors toward a more sustainable schedule that reflects the event’s history, safety record, community value, and irreplaceable role in Mid-Atlantic bicycle racing.

Thank you for your time, your stewardship of Greenbelt Park, and your consideration of this request.

Respectfully,

Members of the Mid-Atlantic Bicycle Racing Community
Racers, officials, volunteers, clubs, coaches, families, and supporters of the Lisa Mary Martin Memorial Greenbelt Park Training Race Series