This is my account of our annual motorcycle ride from 2006... Just thought I'd share it with those of you who wonder where I disappear to occasionally!
The 13th Annual Trail of Tears Commemorative Motorcycle Ride
September 16th, 2006
It was a glorious morning with the sun shining brightly; an absolutely perfect day for a ride... Excitement hung heavy in the air, just as it had in previous years, for no matter how many times we'd all re-traced the tragic journey made by the Cherokee over 150 years ago, each year brings new people & new experiences to the event. There was a slight "nip" in the air; just enough to require a long-sleeved shirt, but with the sunshine gleaming across a veritable "sea of chrome" you hardly noticed it. It was early...had it been any other day, most of us would still be nursing our first or second cup of coffee, but not today. Today we ride!
The parking lot and surrounding streets were filled to the brim with motorcycles of all descriptions, lined up side by side, awaiting the order to begin our journey and a short prayer was read to ensure a safe trip for all... Suddenly the (surprisingly) quiet morning sprang to life with the throaty growl of over 100,000 motorcycles starting their engines in unison, accompanied by plenty of "hoots-n-hollers" from the riders.... we were off!
After maneuvering through downtown Chattanooga, we hit the highway and everyone relaxed a little (*cities and towns can be a bit "iffy" at times, having to watch out for cars & pedestrians, etc. LOL)
I couldn't imagine being anywhere else at this moment; sun on my face and wind in my hair, surrounded by "friends" I'd yet to meet... it was awesome! Our first scheduled stop was in Madison, Al. for lunch and to refuel, so we had a pretty good stretch of road to cover. Things went according to plan, that is, until we came into Scottsboro, Al. and found at least 1,000 bikes waiting to join the ride despite the heavily advertised rule changes for this years' ride. See, in years past you could pretty much join the ride anywhere along the route, but due to a few rude & discourteous riders breaking into the column without regard for others' safety, the rules had to be changed to avoid any more accidents or injuries along the way. Anyways... it's kinda hard to tell that many people "no" so they were allowed to join the procession at the back of the line. ( so much for rule changes, eh?) All was well until a couple of the new-comers got tangled up and ended up in the median; not exactly sure of the extent of their injuries, but they had to be taken away in ambulances... as far as we know, everyone is fine. The only other mishap came later in the day, after our lunch stop, so all in all it was a pretty safe ride this year! The state troopers, sheriff depts. and police in each town did an excellent job of blocking off every intersection as we passed by, so that also helped minimize any potential for accidents... Thanks guys!
Good old-fashioned "Southern Hospitality" was at its' best again this year, as thousands upon thousands of greeters and well-wishers stood along side the roads, waving, cheering and clapping as we drove by... many held up signs welcoming the ride, which at this point stretched over 50 miles in length. Think about that for a second... a constant, uninterrupted column of motorcycles riding side by side that was over 50 miles long. Another words, you could stand and watch motorcycles pass you for over an hour before you saw the end of the line! Quite an amazing sight...
The lunch and fuel stop in Madison went as scheduled, though it was a little tough waiting in line for a potty-break; whole lotta pee-pee dancin' going on! After that was taken care of, we grabbed a quick bite to eat at one of the many food vendors who'd set up booths for us, refueled the bikes and headed out towards our next stop (Florence, Al.) around 11:30 ~ it was funny, the first bikes to arrive at the Madison stop were fed, fueled & on their way to Florence while the last riders in the column were just arriving for their lunch stop!
Another change to this years' event was the official "last stop" on the ride. Normally, it ends in the town of Waterloo, Al. (*except for those hardy souls who choose to ride the entire route to Oklahoma!) but due to some vendors selling bootleg merchandise last year in Waterloo & costing the ATTOTCA (Al-Tn Trail of Tears Corridor Association) over $30,000 in lost revenue, the decision was made to end the "official" ride in Florence this year. Of course, there was no rule against going the additional 16 miles to Waterloo if the riders chose to, but the main festivities (Pow-wow, entertainment, food & merchandise) were being held in McFarland Park instead of Waterloo... kind of sad that a few "bad apples" have to spoil things for everyone. We always got a kick out of seeing the tiny town of Waterloo go from a population of just under 3,000 inhabitants to well over 150,000 in a matter of hours (hehehe) ... last year there were over 200,000 in Waterloo! Let's just say it gets real "interesting" when that many bikes try pulling into a town that tiny. Where do you park that many motorcycles? Answer: EVERYWHERE! All streets, fields, sidewalks, parking lots, middle of streets and even some people's yards. Luckily, there's a huge field /campground by the river where most folks are able to park & later set up tents. Again, it's quite a sight! There are NO accomodations in Waterloo, just one small convenience store which I believe also functions as the towns' post office, fire station & police dept. (you get the picture! LOL)
We arrived in Florence around 1:30 - 2:00 and the park already had over 2,500 motorcyclists waiting there to greet us, as well as several more hundred folks who'd come in cars, etc. to welcome the ride to it's final stop for the day. Again, the police did an exceptional job of directing traffic & blocking off intersections so we'd reach our destination safely. We even had a few cops from Chattanooga who decided to ride along with us the entire way ~ they seemed to enjoy it as much as the rest of us!
We got the bikes parked fairly close to the park entrance, because we knew it'd probably be a hassle getting out later if we parked further in. Turns out we were right, 'cause several bikes turned around and came back up to where we were after seeing how many motorcycles were jammed into the back of the park. We walked on past the marina down towards the main Pow-wow area and were greeted with the most delicious scents filling the air! There were booths set up with every sort of food imaginable: Greek, Mexican, burgers, funnel-cakes, fried chicken, fresh-squeezed lemonade, Italian, ice cream, Indian fry bread,and much more. Even though we'd just eaten a couple hours earlier, my stomach started growling like crazy! Then there were the merchandise vendors... in addition to the "official" Trail of Tears merchandise booths, there were people selling boots, bike parts, leathers, patches, flags, biker t-shirts, hand-crafted Indian jewelry, hand-carved Indian flutes, engraved jewelry, candles, saddle-bags, Indian clothing,etc. It was tough trying to figure out where to go first! (*actually it wasn't ... my bladder was already hollering again!)
The cool, comfortable morning we'd started out with had turned into typical full-blown hot and humid Alabama summer afternoon by this time, and I was relieved they'd had the foresight to place the main Pow-wow area under the tall dark pine trees by the river. With the temperature well over 90 degrees, it kinda made me re-think my wardrobe choice for the day: jeans, heavy-ass boots, t-shirt and a leather vest. I swear, at one point I thought I was actually starting to melt! (LOL) After we finally got to use the bathroom (*hell yes I waited in line to use a real toilet vs. the porta-potties scattered throughout the venue... the heat had me semi-queasy as it was!! ) we went and got a couple of large lemonades then walked down to sit under the trees beside the river... it was great just being "still" for awhile, watching the river with the almost haunting sound of someone playing an Indian flute somewhere in the background. Now that's what I call relaxing [sigh!] It wasn't too long after we'd begun to cool off and un-wind from the trip that it seemed as though everyone else decided to do the same... we basically went from having a somewhat secluded area of river bank all to ourselves, to folks winging frisbees over our heads, strange dogs coming up licking our faces, and tired out travelers laying down next to us in the grass...well Howdy neighbor! So much for relaxing in solitude, eh? (hahaha) We decided to go grab a bite to eat and then find a spot near the dance/drum circle...
Once I'd gotten my gyro-fix on at the Greek booth and the ol'man grabbed a huge Italian sausage & pepper sandwich w/ curly fries, we made our way back to the Circle, where, as luck would have it, we spotted some friends of ours who'd scored some primo seats! After all the mandatory hugs-n-kisses, we settled in for the entertainment. First up was a male "fancy-dancer" (as they're called) dressed in an amazing costume with feathers and bells; he even had a traditional hair-do complete with a scalp-lock... beautiful! After that, there was a women's traditional dance followed by the "shawl" dancers; again, the costumes were absolutely gorgeous & the sound of the drums and chanting made us feel as if we'd been transported back in time. We felt honored to be a part of this sacred ceremony... sorry if that sounds a little "corny" but the whole thing is rather spiritual; a religious experience if you will. It doesn't matter if you've seen it a dozen times before; it's a very moving and beautiful thing to be a part of! There were a couple more dances & then the children were invited to join the Circle. Talk about adorable!!! Not only were there Native children in traditional garb, some of the bikers' kids joined in as well to learn how to dance... it was precious. After an hour or more, we decided to stretch our legs for a bit and see what the merchandise vendors had to offer. After all, we'd been sitting on our asses all day, right? There'll be more dancing later...
*To be continued... Tues. 9/19/06
Friday Sept. 22, 2006:
Sorry for the delay in telling you more, but I'd developed a wicked case of "keyboard cramp" and had to regroup! I'm still waiting on some pictures, but I didn't want y'all to give up on me... Now, where was I ? (LOL)
I'd be remiss in my account of the weekend if I neglected telling you about my son, Collin, and his reaction to the whole thing. It was his first Trail of Tears ride, actually, his first motorcycle rally ever! Even though he's grown up knowing that his Mom was a motorcycle enthusiast, he still had a kinda stereo-typical view of "Biker Folk" in general... he approached the day with a mixture of excitement as well as apprehension. Needless to say, the sheer size of the crowd coupled with the volume of thousands of motorcycles was enough to intimidate anyone who wasn't used to this sort of thing. Some of the expressions on his face throughout the day were priceless! After a few hours he began to relax & accepted the fact that the "big bad bikers" weren't going to kidnap him, have him forcibly tattooed, or harm him in any other way... Then came the (louder than I'd like..) questions: "Hey Mom! Did you know that some of these biker-dudes are preachers?" then, "Do you think they let them wear their chaps to church?" ( LMAOOO! ) He was so funny, although I'm quite sure that wasn't his intention. I'm not sure which was worse; the awe-struck silence & nervous fidgeting when he first realized he was surrounded by thousands of bikers, or the incessant babbling that ensued once he realized that they were just folks like us! Once we'd arrived at McFarland Park and had made our way to the drum/dance Circle, he was once again struck dumb when he saw the Indians and their ornate costumes, but that was just temporary: "WOAHH! HEY MOM! Are those REAL Indians???" ( geeeez... I coulda died right then and there! ) Thankfully, everyone around us was too involved in their own thing to pay him any notice and I quickly reminded him that these ceremonies and dances were like "church" for the Indians and he should be respectful of that. He found a comfortable spot to sit under a pine tree just outside the Circle and sat totally enthralled for well over an hour. They'd actually invited him to join in when it came time for the children to dance, but being nearly 13 (and a bit shy!), he declined; even though I could tell by the look on his face that he was honored to be included & kinda wanted to! The dancers stopped for a break a short time later and we needed to stretch our legs... may as well see what the vendors had for sale!
Our first stop was at the Official T.O.T. merchandise booth, so we could get our t-shirts & ride pins. We finally succeeded after about a 20 min. wait in line... Then it was off to one of the leather booths (*like we need more!) then the Harley boots tent, followed by a stop by the "sewn while-you-wait" patches booth. I kept eyeing the line of booths where the Native jewelry artisans were, but the ol' man kept veering off in the opposite direction ( go figure! ) After we went where he wanted, I finally got to go see all the beautiful hand-made jewelry. Some of it was affordable, but the majority of what we saw was well beyond our means; we'd only carried about $150 or so with us (*Cynn takes mental note to remember that next year! ) There were also booths with traditional Cherokee clothing, pottery, dolls, and hand-carved flutes. It was really cool watching the guy making the flutes and he was quick to show us the one he'd carved especially for the ride which was to be auctioned off later that evening. Gorgeous!
After that, we went to watch the drum-maker and that was interesting
as well... would have loved to had one of them, but we were running a little low on cash by this time. (damn those $5.00 lemonades!!! LOL )
It was nearing dark, so we made our way back to the Circle where they had just called for any war veterans in the crowd to come join them to bring in the flags before sunset. There was a brief speech to thank them for their service to our country and to remind everyone that they are the true "warriors" now... followed by a song as the flags were lowered for the day. A fire and some torches were lit for more dancing & drumming which was even more beautiful in the glow of firelight. The auction started shortly after, and apparently we were the only dumb-asses in the crowd who hadn't brought enough cash. They were bidding like crazy! They auctioned off everything from original paintings, hand-made drums, pipes, shawls, flags, blankets and the commemorative flute the man had shown to us earlier... they all fetched a pretty good penny, although we don't know the exact price the flute sold for since it was reserved for a special "silent" auction. It's a safe bet that it sold for a couple grand...
9/22/06 4:12PM *YIKES!!! We're currently under a tornado warning so I'm gonna have to interrupt this blog yet again... I'll get it finished eventually! LMAOOOO!
9/24/06 10:22PM...
Well, I made it through the storms intact & the ol' man just left to go back on the road for the week, so I thought I'd go ahead I finish this up...
It had been a long day and the festivities were dying down, so we decided it was time to head on back to the house. Believe you me, we weren't particularly looking forward to a 2 hour ride home, but we weren't camping out this year because my son was along and already had plans for Sunday; besides, it's a sure bet that any available parking and camp sites were already claimed in Waterloo by now. One of these days we'll actually make the entire trip all the way out to Oklahoma, but for now we're grateful to have been a part of yet another successful run... The official numbers still haven't been posted, but I feel it's safe to say our place in the Guiness Book is still safe. The best way to determine the size of the ride is, of course, to take part in it because it's HUGE. When you're in the midst of it you can easily see why it made the record book as "the largest organized motorcycle ride in the world!"
We made it back to the house without incident, although we were pretty tired and stiff (sucks getting old LOL!) Even though it'd been hours since the ride ended there were still an extraordinary amount of motorcycles on the road & it seemed that nearly every car we passed either threw up their hand to wave or honked their horn at us as we passed... strange as it may sound, it fills your heart with a sort of "pride" to know that they not only acknowledge your presence, but they in their own way, also respect the contribution & dedication to the cause we show each year when we ride. See, any other day we'd probably pass by un-noticed, but the 3rd Saturday of September is almost like a holiday in the area... word has spread across the world about this ride; we've had participants who've actually had their bikes shipped over & taken a flight here from as far away as Australia and Italy just to be a part of it! It truly is an amazing experience... here it is a full week later and I still get a "rush" thinking about it. Again, if any of you are riders you need to seriously consider taking part in it, and even if you don't ride, it'd be worth a trip to north Alabama to come join the festivities!
In Peace & Love, "Cynn"
