Noobert

To hold a organized bike race with prizes and advertisement, what laws do you have to take in to consideration?

wahoonc

Depends on the state and locale. In NC you have to notify local law enforcement if the race is to be held on public roads, and in many cases it cannot affect normal traffic, in one town where we ran a crit we had to have a parade permit

Aaron

Rogue Leader

The parade permit thing is actually very common for this. While it wasn't "designed" for bike races, many places use it to cover everything from parades (duh) to bike and running races. I'd check with your town or village as the requirements are different everywhere.

CCrew

Not a law, but the biggest deterrent is liability insurance. Very $$$$

Noobert

SO with out any notification to the city, can you hold a race, promote flyers, race on streets.

And everyone be liable for them selves? Is all this possible?

10 Wheels

Might do this kind of race?
https://www.alleycatracing.com/index.php?title=Main_Page

Pat

It depends on what you mean by "race".

Some people think that organized rides are "races". Some cyclists treat them that way. But they are merely recreational riders riding a predetermined route with stops at intervals with snacks and goodies. These events usually have a T-shirt and an entry fee which covers expenses. They are labor intensive to put on. You need a mechanic, people to man the stops, SAG drivers, people to mark the roads at the turns and so on. Also alerting the local county police of the event is always a good idea.

Putting on a race that is a competition is a different matter. Now I have seen people put on time trials. That can be rather ad hoc because time trials are usually about 10 miles and you just choose a road with almost no traffic and get some friends and do it. You need people to time it. So it is more than a one person deal.

All the other bike races I have seen, road races, criteriums or closed track were under the auspices of the USCF (United States Cycling Federation). Competition in these events requires that all participants have a USCF license unless they are in the "citizens" category. To put one of these on, you would need to have some standing with the USCF.

I really don't think that it is a good idea for an individual to try to do this. Even organized rides around here are often messed up. People use these to raise money for worthy causes and frequently they do not know what is involved to do a good job. Often the SAG stops are not manned, don't have food, and so on.

If you want to get involved in this, you should work as a volunteer on some of the better local events so you can learn what is involved in putting on a good event.

Little Darwin

Possible, but as long as you go through the effort sof organizing etc, be prepared to potentially go to court for violation of state and local laws and/or defend yourself if someone gets hurt and goes after you since there is no insurance coverage.

Be prepared to spend money before, or risk losing it afterward. And, if you want any organization to sanction the race, they will probably insist on you following the laws. But, since you are asking here, you are probably not worrying about being sanctioned either... so, why would someone who races seriously risk injury (as all racers do) without getting credit for being in a sanctioned race?

Machka 

+1

But if you try to close a street so the racers can race without cars around, and you don't have permission to do so, be prepared for the local law enforcement to come along and ask you what you're up to.

And if you clog up the streets with a lot of cyclists, be prepared for the local law enforcement to come along and ask you what you're up to.

They have the option of shutting it all down, and/or fining you.

As someone else mentioned ... be a volunteer at events in your area. Find out what's involved.

LongT

Go to some local races and ask. They are a LOT of work. Also contact local rep for USA Cycling. They should know what is required to put on a USACycling (USCF) event in your area.

Bill