The Blessing of the Bkes

On Friday, September 19, 2008, I joined about 300 motorcycles (the line of bikes was nearly 3 miles long) in the "Charlie Maxwell Memorial Ride" to Chattanooga, TN. It is the Georgia leg of the "Trail of Tears Remembrance Ride" that takes place the 3rd weekend in September to commemorate the Cherokee Trail of Tears, walked in the late 1830's when President Jackson (I think it was Jackson...) ordered the removal of the Cherokee, Cree, Creek, Seminole and other lesser known tribes from Georgia and the Carolinas to their reservation in Oklahoma. Many, many died, and the others suffered extreme cold, hunger, and misery.

The ride in Georgia became the Charlie Maxwell Memorial Ride in honor of an Earl Small's Harley Davidson employee who was an enthusiast of the ride, but who unfortunately died before he could ride. We left the Cartersville HD dealership on Friday morning, and rode to a meeting place just 40 miles East of Chattanooga where we met with a contingent of about 100 motorcycles from the Carolinas. We all then rode to "Thunder Creek Harley Davidson" in Chattanooga where there were about 800 motorcycles already there. It was something to see, something to experience. My first organized ride, and one I will endeavor to ride each year.

There was a couple days of celebration at the Cartersville HD dealership...bands, food, Native American arts and crafts, and Native American Dancing by a Cherokee dance troupe. The highlight of Friday just before we left on the ride was "The Blessing of the Bikes" by a Cherokee Shaman (don't know if he is or not...but purported to be). He is just blessing my motorcycle in the picture.