Trail of Tears ride in Sept.

[Toolman Tom]

Here is the skinny ---
This is the 16th annual TOT motorcycle ride.  This ride is in honor of the terrible TOT involving the Cherokee as well as four other tribes being taken from their land and moved to reservations in OK.  It starts in Chattanooga, TN at the Riverfront Pkwy. on Sat. the 19th at departs 8:00AM and rides to Florence, AL.  This year most of the route is in TN. This is a big event - thousands of riders.  It is escorted by police all the way.  This will be my fourth TOT trip and second trip to Oklahoma.  On Sunday the 20th those going to OK will group up in Muscle Shoals and head for the next overnight stop in Hot Springs, AR.  Monday AM it's on to Okmulgee, OK arriving about 3:30.  There is no fee or registration for the ride.  Please go to www.trailoftears-rememberance.org or you may call Bill Cason at 1-877-868-8747 for more info.  There is a get together at the H/D dealer in Cartersville, GA on Fri. from 9-Noon for a ride up to Chattanooga.  There is food, vendors and the Native American festival going on.  This group leaves at noon and meets with a group from Cherokee, NC to ride up to Chattanooga.
It's quite a trip.  I'm planning to return thru the Ozarks in AR on the way back to Atlanta.  Tom

[Smokinjoe]

I rode this ride back in the late 90's about 7,500 bikes and 7,600 that did'nt need to be ridin' in a group that big. Now its over 100,000 and I'll bet 99,000 will be non-ridin' yuppie Harley riders.

[MP]

That is Waaaayyy too many want to be riders in a group for me!
Ride sounds great, just not all the bikes!
Maybe a good idea for 20 or so Valkyries sometime??
MP

[TAZ]

oh man I hear ya....way to many bikes and people you don't know them or their riding skills.  we have some big rides by us and there were tons of crotch rockets that would show up and they ruined it for most people as they alot of them turned off and never have returned including our group.  It's just no fun being stuck in a middle of thousands of bikes in a pack going that far.  Nice cause but how many of them really give a darn about what it is really about as it was a very sad moment in history moving people out of their homeland to live out in some unknown territory and leaving all their dead relatives spirits behind. very sad time.