Several young cyclists will be biking through Woodbury today as part of the 2016 Remember the Removal Bike Ride. The ride allows young Cherokees to retrace the northern route of the Trail of Tears by bicycle from Cherokee homelands in the Southeast to present-day Oklahoma, the ending point of the trail.
The participants, ages 16-24, started training March for the three-week journey, which started in New Echota, Georgia, on Sunday.
The Remember the Removal Bike Ride is a 950-mile journey that spans Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma. This year, students were selected based on essays, interviews and a physical to ensure they were up for the grueling challenge.
“Being selected to participate in the Remember the Removal Bike Ride is an honor for these young tribal citizens. It will be a physical challenge, no doubt, but the reward is immense,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker. “They will get a unique education in the history of our tribe and learn just how strong our ancestors were as they trekked to modern-day Oklahoma. The bonds they form with the other riders on this annual trip are deep and long lasting, and it’s something the participants will always cherish.”
The Cherokee Nation cyclists will be joined by seven cyclists from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians from North Carolina for the ride.
They travel an average of 60 miles a day for three weeks, mirroring in part the hardships of their Cherokee ancestors who made the same trek on foot. Of the estimated 16,000 Cherokees who were forced to make the journey to Indian Territory, 4,000 died due to exposure, starvation and disease, giving credence to the name Trail of Tears.
