RIDERS RETURN: Remember the Removal Cherokees roll back into town on wave of emotion.

Jun. 19—A group of nine Cherokees finished the last leg of their 950-mile bike ride to retrace the Trail of Tears Friday, with friends, family, and fellow Cherokees greeting them under the Peace Pavilion in Tahlequah.

On their journey spanning seven states, the Remember the Removal Bike Ride participants crossed mountainous terrain, faced extreme heat, rode in the rain and withstood flat tires, all while taking in and learning more about their ancestors' forced removal more than 180 years ago.

RTR Rider Shace Duncan said he faced a roller-coaster of emotions as he rolled into town, where he was quickly greeted by his family.

"it's sad that it's over, but I'm so happy to see all my family," Duncan said. "It's amazing. Missouri week was a hard week. It has rolling hills, you don't get much rest, and it's just burning hot, but I don't regret doing it. I'm especially happy I did it at a young age. It was more of a healing process for me. I have had so much healing that needed to happen, and it did happen on this ride."

Six Cherokee Nation riders and three from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina began their trek in New Echota, Georgia. From there, they embarked on a ride that passed through Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma. They traveled roughly 60 miles a day.

Along the way, they visited actual sites where Cherokees were taken on their walk from Georgia to Indian Country. In Kentucky, they visited Mantle Rock, a certified site on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail where approximately 1,766 Cherokees spent two weeks while waiting for the Ohio River to thaw and become passable.

In Port Royal Tennessee, the riders were taken on a preserved trail where their ancestors once passed through. Barefooted, the team walked the passage, where RTR Rider Kaylee Smith said she realized the perseverance Cherokees must have had to survive.

"I could feel sadness as soon as we entered," she said. "It's hard to put into words exactly what the energy and the feeling was, but you could only experience it in person. Knowing my ancestors stood and walked where we were, in that moment, was completely surreal."

The riders' return was an emotional scene, but so was the entire journey. Shortly after the start of their ride, they conquered — in the rain — the Cumberland Plateau, which is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau in the Appalachian Mountains. Afterward, riders hugged and rejoiced at Fall Creek Falls in Tennessee, but still had another 600-plus miles to travel.

"I am speechless whenever I'm asked about it, because there's really no words to describe how mentally and physically exhausting this trip was, but it was also so rewarding at the same time," Smith said. "Being able to experience this alongside my teammates truly made me into a better person, and I could not have gone through it without them."

CN Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said the riders, who faced a series of trials and tribulations on their trek, will inherit a future full of obstacles. But like their Cherokees ancestors before them, they'll take the largest of challenges they face and turn them into opportunities.

"In the future, however difficult it may be, however challenging it may be, will not be bigger than this generation of riders," he said. "And if these riders represent the generation of Cherokee people that are coming up, my fellow Cherokees, the future is bright, the future is theirs, and we couldn't be more proud of their triumph today and the triumphs they'll have in the future."