MADISON, Alabama – The City of Madison will host the 18th annual Trail of Tears Commemorative Motorcycle Ride on Saturday with several thousand motorcyclists expected to arrive at the Old Time Pottery Barn between 9:30 and 10 a.m.
The riders will begin their trek early Saturday morning in Bridgeport at the state line, gathering at 7 a.m. and departing at 8 a.m.
After arriving in Madison for lunch, the bikers will leave at 11:30, heading west through Athens and Florence on U.S. 72, where the route will change course from previous years, turning west on Cox Creek Parkway.
“That is the only change in the route,” said Trail of Tears Madison coordinator Tabitha Ivey. “They will not be going past McFarland Park this year as in year’s past.”
Ivey said the ride brings in around $5 million each year to the state in tourism dollars and she expects Madison to receive “about one-third” of the revenue along with Bridgeport and Waterloo, where the 200-mile ride ends.
“This is definitely something that benefits Madison and the state,” said Ivey.
The Trail of Tears commemorates the time when thousands of American Indians were forced from their homes in the South and sent to Oklahoma. Last year a historical marker was placed at the old railroad bridge in Bridgeport that the Indians passed under on their trek to Oklahoma. Many died along the way.
The Trail of Tears ride was first held in October 1993 when Rudy Rainwater and Rod Wheeler, two of eight motorcyclists, started the event. It is one of the largest organized motorcycle rides in the nation and largely follows U.S. 72, which was known as the Drane/Hood Route, one of the recognized Trail of Tears routes in North Alabama.
Richard C. Sheridan of Sheffield provided a history of the route to Jerry Davis of Scottsboro who, along with Darla Graves of the Alabama Indian Affairs Commission, helped introduce the information to the Alabama Legislature, which passed a joint House resolution that designated U.S. 72 as the Trail of Tears Corridor for North Alabama.
After inquiring how to best promote the route, Harley rider Bill Cason told Davis the best way to do so was through a ride from Chattanooga to Waterloo, which is where the idea for the ride originated.
As a prelude to the Saturday ride, a free Five Feathers Rally will be held at the Old Time Pottery Barn in Madison beginning at 6 p.m. Friday. It will feature food and jewelry vendors as well as three bands – Remove Before Flight at 6 p.m., Crossfire at 7:15 p.m. and J.D. and the Bad Boys at 8:30.
The 2011 Trail of Tears Spirit of America Award will be presented to Dave Baswell, who served on five different aircraft carriers during a 23-year career in the U.S. Navy. He served in Vietnam, the Mediterranean, North Atlantic, Western Pacific and Caribbean deployments. He worked for the U.S. Army at Redstone Arsenal and Fort Rucker from 1982-2005 and has toured the U.S. on his Harley-Davidson.
The Spirit of America flag, designed by Dale Hemphill, will be presented at the rally at Bridgeport, in Madison and at Waterloo.
For more information, call 256-461-0518 or visit or www.al-tn-trailoftears.net.
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