You'll be welcome to enjoy yourself anywhere near my grave.

Sorry, but they really aren't public places, at least not in the states.

When I was younger (over thirty years ago) I lived near a Forest Lawn cemetery. We used to take our bikes inside the park near the walls that separate the park from the outside world. No one ever complained or threw us out-just as long as we did not ride through a funeral being conducted. When I got a little older, some of the teens that lived in the houses bordering the cemetery would party all night there, get loaded, and do some things that I can't discuss here being a family forum.

Had a rather funny thing happen to me years and years ago regarding a cemetary.

Was visiting a friend in a part of town I was not really familiar with... got to his house fine and after visiting took off... I sort of forgot the exact roads I used to get to his house, and noticed another road that seemed to be a parallel shortcut in the right direction... so I went down that road.

It was a quiet lane, with no traffic, so I figured I made a good choice... until I discovered that it was the only road to the entry of a cemetary. Oh well, figured I would just double back and take a different route.

Only when I turned around, I found I had inadvertently become the lead vehicle in a funeral... the entire funeral party was right behind me, with lights on, at the entry to the cemetary. Somehow they had come up behind me after I turned onto the road and they just quietly continued right on behind me up to the entry.

I quickly and rather sheepishly headed back up the road from which I came.

When were were younger we liked to end some rides at a Chinese cemetary at the head of a narrow valley, where we could hang out and smoke doobies. It must be between 200' to 300' in elevation and there is a beautiful funneled view of the ocean with high mountain ridges opening on both sides.

The day they hold a crit in a cemetery is the day all of us can ride in a cemetery.

They are public up here in Canada ... and in Australia ... and in various places I've been in Europe.


IN FACT ... when I rode the PBP (Paris-Brest-Paris) in 2003, we started at 10 pm so it was dark. All through the night I kept noticing these odd looking places, partially lit up, and somewhat decorated with flowers and also cycling stuff (bicycles and things). Seeing flowers and bicycle decorations lining the roads during that event wasn't unusual, so at first I just passed it off as yet another cycling-related display .......... until dawn, when I could see what those places were. They were cemeteries. The local people had done them up all nice all along the route. I know some of the cyclists slept in them ... and others stopped briefly to wander through and take pictures. They were quite fascinating.

I ride in my town's cemetary all the time. I don't mean any disrespect, it's just very well lit. Plus, there's no concern for traffic, as the only time I do it is after 2:00 am, or so. The lights on the main street (which is where the only night time bike path is at) turn off at that time.

'Cemeteries' are a unique hybrid of park and graveyard which were originally designed to be enjoyed by the general public. I regularly cruised through Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago on my daily rides and never experienced a problem with outraged visitors or anything remotely close to that.

Having said that, I try to avoid them on weekends as there seem to be a lot of burial ceremonies going on and more than just 'visiting the tombstone of a loved one' visitors.

I live near a huge Cemetery that boarders a city park. On one side there is a mountain bike area, near the park. This is a wooded, forgoten area that has many jumps and a few abandoned graves and head stones.

The paved area is great because there are many hills and only a little traffic.

I worked at a cemetery for four years and we never had any problems or ill will toward bikers cruising through the cem. Some people would do their whole ride within the cemetery. The main thing is that people show respect to those grieving and to steer clear of a funeral so as to obviously not disturb anything. I still ride through the cemetery and have never heard on either end any complaints, common sense dictates that if the cemetery has something going on then to keep your distance.

The Patrone has spoken. I will take the word of a cemetary worker on this subject above all others. To show respect is essential.

Many years ago when I was in college, I used to race criteriums and would practice in the local cemetery.....If a service was going on, or if I saw anyone other than the grounds crew, I simpy went to the other side of the property out of respect. While riding, if a funeral procession entered the gates, and I couldn't easily slip away without being noticed, I would stop riding, get off the bike, and bow my head as they passed near me. Again, simply a gesture out of repect for the family.

Mark

One of my commute routes takes my through a city public cemetary. There is also one in my home town that has summer walking tours. When ever I have friends in town for and we go biking, this cemetary is part of the ride. They are unique places and it's a good idea to have memorials clustered in one area. It's much more practical than those things we see on the side of the highways.

If I am on a ride and come across an old cemetary, I usually detour through it with my camera.
I found a "Dead Sox Fan" there. Also the bottom picture is my choice of disposing of my cadaver after the researchers are done with it.

I got a lot of interesting information about cemeteries (some of which I've posted here) from a good friend of mine who also worked (works) in one in England. He rode/rides through a cemetery 5 days a week ... to and from work!! And on the tours we did together in England and Australia, he was forever stopping at cemeteries to ride and walk through them to check them out. When he visited Canada one January, he rode a borrowed fixed gear through the cold and snow to the various cemeteries in the city, to ride around them and have a look.

He often stopped cycling on his way through a cemetery to talk to the caretakers about the methods they used for buring people (different countries use different methods), and never once did any of the caretakers complain about him (us) being on bicycles in the cemeteries. Several invited him back!!

But he (and we) always showed respect for what might be going on there.





(I'll just add this though ... after hearing some of the stories he, and some of the other caretakers, told me about what goes on behind the scenes at cemeteries .......... I'd have to say that cycling quietly through a cemetery is not even remotely disrespectful by comparison!! Not that there was anything crude or perverted going on ... just accidents, or "difficult" environmental situations, etc.)