GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – A special bike ride to honor Florida’s fallen first responders is going on right now throughout the state
This year, The Brotherhood Ride is a ten-day bike ride throughout the state of Florida. They’re hosted by various Elk’s Lodge chapters, and the riders are pedaling from Arcadia to Lakeland, Eustis, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Port Orange, Cocoa, Stuart, Jensen, Delray Beach, and will conclude in Miami.
“So the brotherhood ride was actually formed in 2007{when} we lost nine firefighters in Charleston South Carolina in a warehouse fire,” Jeff Morse, founder of Brotherhood Ride and former fire chief, said. “I didn’t know anybody in Charleston of the fire department but it put something in my heart that I wanted to show these families that we wouldn’t forget their sacrifice.”
The ride is 750 miles in total, averaging 70 to 90 miles a day.
“We always honor Florida’s fallen first, and this year, we’re honoring 24 that died in 2024 so we always do it a year later after the incident the family foes through so much grief but then they start to lose some support and then say ‘what happened these guys said never forget where are they?’ so here we come along we don’t even know their families and we’re there to show them we’re going to honor and remember their loved ones.”
Over the past 17 years , the Brotherhood, which consists of firefighters, law enforcement , EMS personnel, and more have biked more than 13,000 miles through 18 states.
They’ve raised nearly a million dollars for the families of the fallen in that time. The Gainesville Elks Lodge will host the Brotherhood on Thursday, and they’ll meet with some of the families they’re riding for along the route.
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