“Hello, you fool, I love you. C’mon join the joyride!” - Roxette.
Those words are as true today as when Roxette sang them in 1991. In 2024, you can join The Joy Ride for its first trip from Miami to Key West.
Joy Ride looks to become the spiritual successor to the long-running SMART Ride. It will be essentially the same route, same distance, and the same weekend (the Friday and Saturday before Thanksgiving).
Jana Jaffe is Broward House’s point person for the project, and says despite the similarities, this event has a whole new set of challenges.
“We were doing a lot, but there was this outside entity, the SMART Ride, leading the way and us just doing our parts. Now we’re doing our parts and we’re figuring out the rest.”
The Joy Ride has the same fundraising philosophy of returning all money raised back to HIV/AIDS service organizations in Florida. This year is the first time those organizations are running the show. In addition to Broward House, those groups include Miracle of Love, Pridelines, Compass, and Epic Health.
It’s been a year since SMART Ride abruptly announced its end. Longtime riders were aging out, and new participants were hard to find. Jaffe says this “reset” is a chance to reach a new generation.
“It’s time for new,” she said. “We need new blood. For us to continue what we’re doing. Part of the change is we need to get the younger folks. It is still about HIV. It’s big, especially as far as the state of Florida is concerned.”
The mission is also expanded to encompass mental health. All five organizations work with HIV and mental health. While it may not be obvious on the surface, they are almost always intertwined.
The ride will be here before you know it, but there is still lots of time and opportunity to get involved. If you start training now, you can get in shape for the ride. But you can also join a team as a fundraiser who develops fun events, like Bingo night or a drag show. Or you can sign up to crew, helping riders along the way. Maybe the most fun is the Emotional Support Team, people who drive the route and cheer on the riders.
It’s been hard taking on the entire responsibility and starting over, if not from scratch. Jaffe and organizers say it was important to have a ride this year and not wait until 2025.
“It’s coming along. When the SMART Ride sunsetted, there were many who thought, ‘okay, we’re done.’”
Now, Joy Ride’s biggest obstacle is visibility and recognition. While longtime SMART Riders either got too old or decided to start taking vacation that time of year, others just aren’t aware of this new initiative.
“So many people are saying, ‘I’m not seeing this!’ We need to get this out there,” Jaffe said.
To learn more about the ride, visit TheJoyRideFL.org.
