Photo courtesy of Smile-A-Mile.
Families cheer at the end of the 2018 Ride of Love event.
For more than 65 cyclists, April 27 is a day of both strenuous physical activity and emotional labor for the annual Ride of Love. Participants dedicate their time to raising money for Smile-A-Mile, an organization that provides hope during the childhood cancer journey for Alabama families.
Cyclists begin as a group at Birmingham’s Smile-A-Mile facility, located just three blocks from Children’s of Alabama at 1600 Second Ave. S., and pedal all day from 6 a.m. to about 6 p.m. until they reach the On Therapy Family Camp at Children’s Harbor on Lake Martin.
Although the Ride of Love was previously started in Tuscaloosa, Smile-A-Mile Development Director Savannah Lanier DeRieux said the beginning point was changed to Five Points last year when they built their first hub in Birmingham.
Children’s Harbor is a separate nonprofit organization, DeRieux said, but they let Smile-A-Mile use their facilities each year for the event.
“All the kids, everyone is there with signs, cheering for them, and usually there’s not a dry eye because those cyclists have sacrificed so much, and those kids know that, that those cyclists have done that for them to raise funds,” DeRieux said. “So, it’s just really such a beautiful thing, a once in a lifetime experience.”
Smile-A-Mile’s services extend to include patients, survivors, siblings and parents. DeRieux said the Ride of Love event has been a consistent part of their hospital outreach program. As cyclists join the cause, they invite friends, families and locals to donate as they make the either 75-mile or 153-mile trek. They generally ride at a pace of 15 to 16 miles-per-hour, DeRieux said
“We depend on the funds raised from the Ride of Love to develop programs for families in Alabama that are affected by childhood cancer,” DeRieux said.
Smile-A-Mile serves families from diagnosis through treatment and also the years beyond by going into the hospitals and using Smile-A-Mile facilities and summer camp sessions.
“When they ride into the camp, many of those children are newly diagnosed with cancer, so their families are still in the very dark phases. They’re terrified, and it’s many families first outing as a family after diagnosis,” she said.
To sign up as a cyclist, it costs $50. To sign up or to donate, which can be done all the way until the day of the event, go to smileamile.com.
