Claremore — For the next four weeks, Wyatt Collins will retrace his Cherokee heritage when he and seven others embark on a 1,500-mile bike ride along the Trail of Tears.

Collins, of Chelsea, was one of eight bikers chosen for the ride named Remember the Removal Project and has been training for the past month.

“I haven’t really ridden long distance before,” Collins said. “I’ve just been training on (Hwy.) 66 riding from Chelsea to Claremore everyday and around Claremore to Sonic to get a No. 6 and then back home.”

The riders will leave for the trek on Wednesday, and included as a rider is Cherokee Nation Chief Chad Smith.

“Chief Smith will join us later in the day on the first day,” Collins said. “He’ll be returning from a trip that day and will have about 150 miles to catch up with us. Then we’ll be going along with him at his speaking engagements along the Trail of Tears. We will also have a Cherokee Marshal riding with us for security and a marshal in a squad car following us for traffic in the cities.”

The Trail of Tears of the Cherokees took pace over the winter months of 1838 through 1839. An estimated 16,000 Cherokees were forced at gunpoint to remove themselves and their families from their homes, farms and communities. After being held in federal stockades until deep winter, they were subsequently herded on overland and water routes that moved through territories that represent the present-day states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri and Arkansas. More than 4,000 Cherokees died along the various routes from the harsh conditions of the crossing.

The purpose of the ride is to promote awareness of these events as riders re-visit the areas where the journey took place and to help educate Cherokee students about their tribe’s history and the Trail of Tears. It will also promote the achievements of the modern Cherokee Nation to those along the route.

While in Tennessee, Collins will visit a home where his Cherokee ancestor Hair Conrad lived. According to the Southeast Tennessee Development District Web site, Tekahskeh, or Hair Conrad as he came to be known, was a man of means and the leader of the first detachment of Cherokees from Rattlesnake Springs on the Trail of Tears. Conrad built his cabin during the early 1800s and it is the oldest residential structure in Bradley County located at Blythewood Farms in Cleveland, Tenn. The home known as the Hair Conrad Cabin is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Collins is looking forward to the Tennessee visit.

“I am doing this to support our heritage and to commemorate our people who died on the Trail of Tears,” Collins said. Collins and his family, including mom Teresa, dad Bill and brother Jacob, are proud of their Cherokee heritage. Bill Collins speaks fluent Cherokee and teaches his children the Cherokee language and makes and plays flutes.

A 2008 graduate of Chelsea High School, Collins is now a student at Rogers State University majoring in international business. While in high school, Collins was a member of the Chelsea track team and a member of the cross country team his junior and senior years.

Even though he has never participated in a bike ride of more than 20 miles, Collins said his experience in track and cross country have prepared him for this challenge.

“I’ve ridden in little rides here and there, but never 20 miles or more,” he said. “I’ve been riding for about a year, but seriously training since I found out about this ride.”

The four-week bike ride was previously held in 1983 when 24 riders participated in a similar trek. While out on the open road from Cherokee, N.C., to Tahlequah, the riders will begin each day at sun up and stop biking around noon, “to beat the heat,” Collins said.

At night, Collins and the riders will be camping with a few nights stay planned in commercial lodging. The group plans to cover 60 to 70 miles each day to meet the goal of the event.

Of the eight bikers participating, Collins said only one is an experienced rider.

“There is one rider who has competed in triathlons and I am the only one who can keep up with him, barely,” he said.

The ride is being sponsored by Gatorade, according to Collins, and is being funded entirely by the Cherokee Nation Train of Tears Historical Society who raised more than $100,000, Collins said.

“They purchased our bikes and our riding outfits, two each, and are sending two cooks along with us to provide our meals,” he said.

The entire ride will travel along the original roads of the Trail of Tears on the northern route, which the bikers will ride. Some of the roads, according to Collins, haven’t been paved and have been left untouched.

Each day, the riders will take photos of their experiences along the ride and will post a daily blog. The link to the blog can be found at www.cherokeenation.org once the ride begins, according to ride officials.