We’re Riding 165 Miles for This Community: Join the Prideliners for the Joy Ride 2026

Suggested slug: /prideliners-joy-ride-2026 Meta description: Team Prideliners rides 165 miles, Orlando to St. Petersburg, Nov 20-21. Ride, train, crew, or give: 100% fuels LGBTQ+ community services in Miami-Dade.

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Some journeys are measured in miles. The best ones are measured in who rides beside you.

This November 20 and 21, Team Prideliners, the Pridelines Joy Ride Bike Club, will ride the Joy Ride: two days and 165 miles from Orlando to St. Petersburg, alongside hundreds of cyclists raising money for LGBTQ+ community services across Florida. Pridelines is one of the ride’s benefiting agencies, which means every mile our team pedals helps power the work we do together in Miami-Dade: youth programs, senior services, mental health support, HIV testing, and community wellness, as we have since 1982.

And there is a place in this for you, whatever your relationship with a bicycle.

What the Joy Ride Is

The Joy Ride is Florida’s two-day charity cycling event. Riders roll out of Winter Garden at sunrise on Friday, November 20, cover 101 miles to Lutz on Day One, then ride 60 more into St. Petersburg on Saturday, finishing at a closing ceremony at Albert Whitted Park that afternoon. Registration is $175 and includes Friday night lodging and meals along the route. Each cyclist commits to raising at least $1,250, and 100% of what riders raise goes directly to the benefiting agencies.

That last number is the whole story. Every dollar. No overhead skimmed, no fees taken. Miles in, mission out.

Why We Ride

Many in our community remember pedaling from Miami to Key West year after year in the SMART Ride, and many more remember crewing its pit stops, driving its routes, and crying at its closing ceremonies. The Joy Ride carries that spirit forward, and Team Prideliners carries Miami-Dade’s part of it.

“Between the SMART Ride and the Joy Ride, this community has carried itself farther than we can count,” says Rev. Dr. Harold Marrero, Executive Director of Pridelines. “Every mile our team rides in November comes home to Miami-Dade as youth programs, senior services, mental health support, and care.”

Four Ways to Be Part of It

Ride with us. Join Team Prideliners for the full two days. Register at pridelines.events/joyride, and our team captain, Dr. Daniel Sheridan, will guide you from your first training mile to the finish line.

Train with us. Team rides roll out from Matheson Hammock Park every weekend beginning Saturday, September 5, down the shaded, beautiful Old Cutler Trail. The season builds gradually from an easy 10 miles to the full “Black Point 60,” every ride is no-drop, and every pace is welcome. Curious? Come ride a short one with us before you decide anything: email dan@pridelines.org.

Crew with us. Every great ride runs on its volunteers: pit stops, support vehicles, and cheering sections. Prefer both feet on the ground? There is a seat for you on the crew: email dan@pridelines.org.

Give. Your gift carries our riders, and this community, all 165 miles, and because we use Zeffy, Pridelines pays no platform fees: every dollar lands. Fuel the team at our donation page: $25 sends the team down the trail on a Saturday training ride, $50 stocks the pit stop that keeps our riders rolling, $100 puts a rider on the road in Pridelines colors, and $250 makes you the celebration waiting in St. Petersburg.

The Season at a Glance

• Saturday, September 5: Training season opens at Matheson Hammock Park
• Saturday, October 17: Rest week for the legs, and the team send-off at Lavender Lounge, 7 pm
• Sunday, November 8: The Black Point 60, our final peak ride, followed by the team dinner
• Thursday, November 19: Orientation Day check-in in Winter Garden
• November 20-21: The Joy Ride, Orlando to St. Petersburg

“This team has a place for every pace,” says Dr. Sheridan. “Show up to one Saturday ride at Matheson Hammock and you’ll understand: the miles matter, and so do the people beside you for every one of them.”

Every Mile Comes Home

Since 1982, Pridelines has been where South Florida’s LGBTQ+ community finds belonging across every generation. This fall, that belonging looks like a paceline on Old Cutler at 7:30 in the morning, a pit stop table stacked with water and snacks, and a finish line in St. Petersburg where somebody you love is cheering.

Ride, train, crew, or give. The road is open, and your seat is waiting.

Register to ride · Fuel the team · Email Dan to join a training ride