A group of Cherokee cyclists plans to roll through Northwest Georgia and Chattanooga this summer tracing the Trail of Tears and building "ga-du-gi" along the way.
Todd Enlow, organizer of the Cherokee Removal Ride who pedaled the route with a team last year, said the riders learn about their history and build teamwork and togetherness, which translates into Cherokee as "ga-du-gi."
Fifteen riders will start cranking their pedals in Rome, Ga., on June 5, passing through the former Cherokee capital of New Echota in Gordon County and hitting historical sites in Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas before ending at Tahlequah, Okla.
As many as 4,000 Cherokees died after they were forced to leave their homes in Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina and move to Oklahoma in the fall and winter of 1838.
Twelve riders completed the route last year, which commemorated the 25th anniversary of the original ride in 1984. Baron O'Field, 21, of Tahlequah, is one of the 2009 riders who plans to ride again this year. He said New Echota was one of the best stops on the trip.
"It was pretty cool to see that," he said.
The high points of the trip were not nearly as fun as the highlights, however. Based on last year, riders will be tested on day three when they pass through the long climbs of the Cumberland Gap near Pikeville, Tenn., Mr. O'Field said.
"I found I had more strength than I thought I had," he said.
That's the idea, according to Mr. Enlow, who said the ride is designed to teach leadership, teamwork and history and instill a sense of pride in the cyclists.
Barring weather or equipment delays, the cyclists should cover the 1,000-mile journey in 18 days, averaging about 60 miles per day.
Even the worst days on last year's trip -- there were 17 flat tires in one day in Missouri -- pale in comparison to what the Trail's original travelers had to deal with.
"I don't think I could do something like that in the winter," said Mr. O'Field, a full-blooded Cherokee whose ancestors were boat captains and missionaries at the time of the removal.
Oklahoma attorney Amber Fite, a rookie on this year's ride, said the ride can offer only a "small glimpse" of what her ancestors experienced.
ON THE WEBFollow the ride at www.remembertheremoval.org.
"This is in no way, shape or form compares to what they went through," she said. "We have bikes; we have a pace car behind us; we have water. They had to carry all of their belongings, and some of them had children."
With temperatures already in the upper 80s in Oklahoma, she's a little concerned about the heat and the distance, but she said she's anxious to see the sites along the way, especially the former capital.
"I think New Echota is a great place to start," she said. "That's probably what I'm looking forward to the most."