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Bicyclists Dig Up Controversy In Queens With Self-Guided Cemetery Tours

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Along with the people buried in Queens cemeteries, there is also a lot of history and a bicycle tour is sending cyclists to check it out.

But, as CBS2's Valerie Castro explained, some aren't so happy about the visitors.

At night, the moon shines over a place of silence and eternal rest, but during the day Calvary Cemetery, and others like it, are a highlight on a bicycle tour.

All Faiths Cemetery in Middle Village is the last stop on the tour, and President Daniel Austin Jr. said he was also the last one to find out about it.

"It was actually my secretary who showed me the article," he said.

Spinlister -- a bike sharing website -- pairs up bicycle owners with people who'd like to rent a bike for a few hours, days, or a week.

The site also publishes a blog with suggested, self-guided bike tours. One tour maps out five cemeteries across Queens.

"I understand that people like the history of an old cemetery, but we're not just an old cemetery, we're an old cemetery that's still in business," Austin Jr. said.

The final resting place belongs to the great-great-great-grand-niece of President George Washington's mother, but Austin said bicycles won't be allowed near it or any other grave site anytime soon.

"I can't say never, ever because someday there will be a white Jewish pope who's also a woman, so I won't say never, ever but as far as I'm concerned today, July 12, 2016, no bicycles allowed in the cemetery," he said.

The cemetery does offer walking tours by request.

A spokesperson for Spinlister released a statement saying in part that, "this is not an organized bike tour. There are no groups taking this tour, nor is Spinlister (or anyone else) profiting from it in any way."

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