For 20 years, the SMART (Southern Most HIV/AIDS) Ride for AIDS awareness in Miami, Florida, has helped to raise millions of dollars to benefit those who have been affected by HIV/AIDS. However, this year will be the last time bikers will have the chance to participate as Founder Glen Weinzimer and Executive Director Todd Delmay confirmed in September SMART Ride’s end.
“I’m very much at peace with this decision,” Weinzimer told Happening Out Television the day after the announcement. “It’s taken a lot of my personal life. You reach a point where you can’t survive just doing this.”
The reason behind the closure is unclear — however, the announcement came shortly after Delmay accepted a new position as the executive director of SAVE LGBTQ, which works to advance LGBTQ+ issues and endorse candidates. Delmay had just been named the executive director of SMART Ride this past January.
The news broke on September 16 when OutSFL posted to their social media regarding the news. Weinzimer and Delmay then confirmed via news release of the ride’s demise. This year will mark the 20th and final SMART Ride, and it will take place from November 17 to November 18.
The abrupt announcement came as a surprise to many, including Wilton Manors City Commissioner Chris Caputo, who spoke to OutSFL about his experience at the SMART Ride.
“As someone who discovered I was HIV-positive after completing my first SMART Ride, this event isn’t just a fundraiser or a 165-mile bike ride to me – it’s a cornerstone of my personal journey and healing,” Caputo said. “In a time of darkness in my life, the consistency of the SMART Ride, and its nearly year-long training, brought comfort and consistency to my life.”
Another regular participant in the SMART Ride is the Key West Mile Markers, a biking team who has already raised over $80,000 for this year’s event. One of the team members, Donald Gene Dotzaue, said this year will be his ninth year with SMART, and he’s close to raising $300,000 through the entire time he’s done these events.
Dotzaue told OutSFL the SMART Ride holds a special place in his heart.
“I was a young gay man at the height of the AIDS epidemic,” he explained. “In 1995, it hit home. I lost my best friend, who died stripped of his dignity. I lived for 20 years never processing my grief in a healthy fashion. That changed in 2015 when I found The SMART Ride. It has changed my life in immeasurable ways. It’s among the best things that have ever happened to me.”