DIXON SPRINGS - Bicyclists with Cherokee heritage are retracing the Trail of Tears, beginning in Georgia and ending in Oklahoma.

The riders stopped Friday at Dixon Springs State Park to camp for the night and check out a local site of the trail. Baron O'Field of Park Hill, Okla., said the group begins between 7:45 and 8 a.m. every morning and rides for about seven hours a day.

He said the ride pushes cyclists physically and gives them a glimpse of what those who had to walk the trail in 1838 had to go through.

"All the students are able to push themselves to their limits and find strength they never knew they had," O'Field said.

The group visited the farm of Joe Crabb later in the day to see the parts of the trail that go through his property. Kolton Holmes of Rocky Mountain, Okla., said actually seeing the same ground that thousands of Cherokees walked on the forced relocation was moving.

"It's just really hard to explain actually seeing it, knowing that people walked through here and all the suffering they went through," Holmes said.

Dallas Lee Smith of Peggs, Okla., said the area at Crabb's farm is where his ancestors trekked and being able to see it was amazing.

"I think it's pretty cool to see where they actually crossed at," Smith said.

Herman Peterson, associate professor of library affairs at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and member of the Illinois chapter of the Trail of Tears Association, said when the Cherokee came through the area in 1838, many were met with jeers from locals. Peterson said he was pleased to be able to make things different for their descendants.

"Being able to give them a different kind of welcome is a really cool feeling," Peterson said.

The group will continue its tour today, heading west toward Green's Ferry. Sarah Holcomb of Vian, Okla., said despite the long ride every day, she has enjoyed being able to see the places her ancestors were forced to walk.

"It's hard but it's worth it," Holcomb said.

codell.rodriguez@thesouthern.com

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