The Southern Most HIV/AIDS Ride — better known as the SMART Ride, the cycling fundraiser which ended last year — made a difference for people living with, affected by or at risk for HIV and AIDS across the state for two decades.
The organization formed in 2003 to give back “100% of every dollar its participants raise to AIDS service organizations throughout Florida” and became the only such ride of its size to do so. It also became the second largest in the U.S.
The 20th SMART Ride was initially described as a “transition year” by Glen Weinzimer, its founder who announced it would be his last at the helm, and Executive Director Todd Delmay, who stepped into the role in Jan. 2023. They later announced the ride would end just two months before participants were scheduled to make their annual 165-mile trek from Miami to Key West.
“We are hanging up our helmets, packing up our jerseys and emptying our water bottles,” the organizers shared Sept. 16, 2023. “We will all walk away with our heads held high and a legacy you can be proud of … Together, we’ve raised millions of dollars, funded vital programs and created lasting change.”
Cyclists completed the final SMART Ride last November but fundraising continued through the end of 2023. Organizers subsequently revealed Jan. 14 during their final check distribution party that participants raised a record $1,422,943, culminating in a 20-year total of $16,377,287.
Final beneficiaries included Tampa Bay’s Empath Partners in Care, which has supported LGBTQ+ and other patients challenged by chronic and advanced illnesses since 1977. EPIC became a benefiting agency in 2022 after assisting the year prior, receiving $253,609 in 2023 for a grand total of just over $400,000.
Miracle of Love, which has provided comprehensive HIV/AIDS care, education and prevention services in Central Florida since 1991, received $223,477 in 2023. They received a total of $1,735,727 throughout their 14 years as a SMART Ride beneficiary.
Broward House in Wilton Manors also received $237,004 last year, while Pridelines in Miami-Dade County received $203,880, Compass Community Center in Palm Beach County received $219,460 and AH Monroe in Monroe County received $285,513.
“To our dedicated crew members, selfless volunteers, and the riders … you embody the spirit of SMART Ride,” the organization shared Jan. 15. “But above all, we thank you — our incredible community — for believing in us … Here’s to new beginnings and continued impact.”
Representatives from each benefiting agency, determined to move forward, also revealed that a new fundraiser would take SMART Ride’s place.
“While SMART Ride the name is ending today, the ride is not,” AH Monroe Executive Director E. Scott Pridgen shared. “The ride will continue with these agencies … because we have a lot of work to do.”
SMART Ride’s successor was initially called “Bike It For Life.” That changed by April, when Fab Adventures, Inc. — the nonprofit formed by SMART Ride’s benefiting agencies — announced “the joy ride” would take place Nov. 22-23. They also confirmed that this year’s inaugural ride will once again consist of a two-day, 165-mile trip from Miami to Key West. The route and other details could change in the future.
“This exciting event not only offers a supportive challenge for cyclists of all levels but also serves a noble cause, benefiting five returning charitable agencies from the recently sunset SMART Ride: Broward House, Compass, Empath Partners in Care, Miracle of Love, and Pridelines,” the new nonprofit shared in a press release.
“The agencies met the day before The SMART Ride Check Distribution Party in January, and we agreed to stick together and build upon what Glen Weinzimer created in the SMART Ride,” Compass CEO Julie Seaver added. “The 100% give back will remain and we are thrilled that AH Monroe is supporting us in their commitment to being the sponsoring welcome wagon as the joy ride rolls into the lower Keys and Key West.”
Fab Adventures, Inc.’s founding board consists of leaders from each organization. They say the joy ride “is committed to creating, producing and overseeing community-based events in which 100% of what the participant raises is returned to benefiting nonprofit organizations.”
Ride registration opened April 15 and fundraising began immediately. The joy ride’s fundraising campaign notes that “whether it’s supporting housing, healthcare services, the LGBTQ+ community, mental health services, or HIV prevention, treatment, and care, every mile cycled will make a meaningful difference in peoples’ lives across the state of Florida.”
Choosing to move forward “was the easiest thing ever,” MOL CEO Angus Bradshaw says.
“Prior to SMART Ride, we were grant funded and had no access at that time to unrestricted funds,” he explains. “So those things that were out of the ordinary for our clients — let’s say, a simple hygiene pack or a simple copay that was not covered by a grant or a program, we couldn’t give clients access to it.”
Bradshaw says participation in the SMART Ride “changed the trajectory of our organization.” Among other endeavors, he notes it allowed MOL to create Central Florida’s Stafford House, the nonprofit’s LGBTQ+ drop-in space.
“The joy ride stands on the shoulders of SMART Ride … and one thing we did not lose was the energy,” he says. “People are still excited about the joy ride, and even those who are not going to ride this year are still supporting us. There are those who are registered to ride that have come back from four or five years ago. The energy level is still high.”
That’s also true behind the scenes, EPIC Executive Director Joy Winheim notes. She says that once the group behind FAB Adventures, Inc. met in February, “we were committed to making this happen.”
“We knew we were not going to agree on every decision, but we knew that whatever decision was made, we were going to be all in,” Winheim says. “We knew that we were all going to back each other up. That is what I love about this group … we have gotten a lot accomplished and I think this is going to be successful.”
Riders do as well. The Tampa Bay Area Cyclists, a record SMART Ride fundraiser, will participate in their first joy ride this year. The trip from Miami to Key West will be Team Captain Jason Fields’ 10th.
“After my first SMART Ride I was hooked,” he says. “I love the team approach to helping the community and love the work our HIV service organizations do in our state. The population of those living with HIV still needs us and 100% of funds raised goes directly to those who do.”
Christian Klimas agrees. He participated in the SMART Ride for 15 years and will serve as a joy ride production team member this year.
“It only made sense to continue the care, passion and well — joy — that this kind of event offers,” he says. “I’ll take any reason to continue helping the communities we serve alongside the people I love.
“HIV may not be the immediate cause of death it once was, but it still requires dedicated care,” Klimas continues. “Access to a more holistic level of care involving stable housing, mental health and affordable medications is what this ride was built on. With increasing barriers and reduction of funding, the need for every dollar raised with the joy ride remains important.”
As he has in previous years, Klimas organized a drag show fundraiser at Enigma in St. Petersburg Nov. 9. TBAC will also benefit from fundraising initiatives like a Bingo at the region’s Salty Nun Nov. 13.
That’s because like the SMART Ride, participants are tasked with raising a minimum of $1,200 per person while the joy ride handles route planning, overnight lodging, meals, first aid and other logistics. Crew members, volunteers responsible for setting up and managing where bicycles are parked and other essential needs, aren’t required to fundraise but are encouraged to do so.
Fundraising is ongoing and additional support is still being sought. Potential sponsors and those looking to volunteer can contact their local agencies or riders to help make a difference.
“None of us are going into this thinking that we’re coming out of it with a check as large as SMART Ride,” Winheim says. “We’re being realistic. But if we make $100, we’re successful.”
“It’s not always about the quantity, it’s about the quality,” Bradshaw adds. “We have a great group of people supporting and riding with us this year.”
Above all, organizers say they’re thankful for the model SMART Ride gave them. Winheim is certain the joy ride will continue to let agencies “use money for small things that make big impacts.”
The inaugural joy ride will be held Nov. 22-23 from Miami to Key West. For more information and to donate, visit TheJoyRideFL.org. Learn more about Empath Partners in Care and Miracle of Love at MyEPIC.org and MiracleOfLoveInc.org.
