Ride Day

Riders from the 2007 SMART Ride

In the State of Florida, we are recognized as a non-permitted event. SMART Ride does not meet the requirements of a permitted event to close roads and have police involvement. This type of event is cost prohibitive. As a non-permitted event, we do notify all police and municipalities that we travel through the dates of our event so they are aware. Since we are a fully supported ride we provide our own medical, motorcycle crew, ambulance, etc to ensure your Safety. It is important when you train that you train both offroad and onroad in order to be comfortable with traffic. Along the route, there are wide berms and bike paths to utilize, but the reality is you are riding with traffic.

We will leave from Morning Star Renewal Center, located at 7275 SW 124 Street Miami, FL, 33156-5324 [Google Maps].

Morning Star Renewal Center is located in Dade County in the city of Pine Crest on approximately 10 acres. Directions to Morning Star Renewal Center are: From I-95 / US 1:

• Head South on I-95 until it merges with US 1.
• Continue South on US 1 to SW 124th Street.
• Turn East on SW 124th Street.
• Follow 124th Street to SW 73 Ave.
• The Renewal Center will be on the Left.

Yes, if you arrive on registration day and have the money raised, you can ride, you will just need to complete the registration process in full and attend a safety orientation. Please plan about 1 1/2 hours to get through registration process.

Check out your rider and crew guides for information on everything from water bottles to flashlights that you may need.

No, we have crew that will do that for you. On registration day, you will receive luggage tags to mark your gear. Your gear will be transported to a central spot each day for you to retrieve. We do not do room deliveries.

We hope friends and family will be with you when you leave on Friday morning as the sun rises, and are encouraged to cheer you on along the way. Keeping in mind that the Keys is a heavily traveled and narrow road, if friends and family are found to be in areas that jeopardize the riders they will be asked to leave those areas promptly, major shopping plazas are good places, our objective is to keep everyone SAFE on the route keep the road as clear as possible of extra traffic. Your friends and family should meet you in Key West and be there waiting at closing ceremonies. The ceremony location is White Street Pier at the AIDS Memorial and will occur at approximately 2:00 PM.

The registration fees are used to offset the cost of producing The SMART Ride. We rely on a percentage of people who need to cancel because of last minute changes, injuries, work commitments within our budgeting. As a grass roots organization that guarantees that 100% of what the participants raise goes to charity, we rely heavily on the registration fee to pay for items that are not donated, insurance, trucks, permits and more. Please know that your registration fee will help us continue to produce an event that is unique and helps those most in need or at risk for HIV/AIDS.

The Mean Elevation for the State of Florida is 100 Feet, and in the Florida Keys the highest point is 18 feet. Florida remains a relatively flat state with only the most northern part of the state closer to the Georgia border being elevated. Those traveling from other states need not worry about altitude changes, or extreme challenges due to inclines. There are two bridges that rise during The SMART Ride one is the card sound road bridge and the second the 7 mile bridge at a peak height of 18 feet above sea level.

The slowest rider is about 12 Miles/hour and the fastest about 21 miles/hour. The majority of our riders fall within the 12-15 mile/hour range. The ride is times based on our slower riders so that everyone gets a chance to finish the ride based on their endurance. If someone should fall behind we can pick that individual up and move them forward through our SAG vehicles.

The SMART Ride 9 will be November 16th and 17th, 2012 with Orientation Day being on Thursday November 15th. Registration for SR9 will open around February 1st.