Traffic alert: Expect delays in Miami, Coral Gables, Broward for Dolphins event
If you’re driving around South Florida on Saturday, take note: The Dolphins Cancer Challenge bike ride and run/walk benefit will fan out across Miami-Dade and Broward for much of the day.
Here’s what to know:
What is the Dolphins Cancer Challenge?
This year’s Dolphins Cancer Challenge is the 16th annual bike ride and run/walk fundraiser in memory of tight end Jim Mandich, a key player on the 1972 undefeated “Perfect Season” team. The Dolphins won two consecutive Super Bowls, in 1973 and ‘74, with Mandich as a tight end. He was also the Dolphins’ radio announcer for two stints between 1992 and 2010.
The event raises money for cancer research. The length for each of the bike rides — 13 miles for the Dan Marino Ride and 99 miles for the Jason Taylor Ride, for instance — represents the jersey number of the player for whom the event is named.
Delays and traffic
Expect road closings around Hard Rock Stadium at 347 Don Shula Dr. as cyclists leave the site at 6 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, and return about seven to nine hours later Saturday afternoon.
- 99-mile Jason Taylor Ride takes in Miami Gardens, Miami, Miami Beach, Sunny Isles Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Lighthouse Point. The ride really rounds up to 100 miles, organizers say. But there are no triple digits on professional football jerseys.
Begins at 6 a.m. Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. Riders will travel on a new century route that tours South Beach, Sunny Isles Beach, Las Olas and Lighthouse Point, with an approximately 40-mile stretch along the Florida coastline under police escort. There’s a lap through Hugh Taylor Birch State Park in Fort Lauderdale around mile 75, before returning to the finish at the stadium’s F1 Miami Autodrome.
- 54-mile Zach Thomas Ride takes participants around Miami Gardens, Golden Beach and Fort Lauderdale.
Starts at 8 a.m. at Hard Rock Stadium. Heads east for the first 10 miles toward Golden Beach, then continues north through downtown Fort Lauderdale and alongside Fort Lauderdale beach, including a lap through Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, before returning along the coastline to finish about three to five hours later at the F1 Miami Autodrome.
- 39-mile Larry Csonka Ride covers parts of Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Brickell, Miami, Miami Beach, Surfside, Bal Harbour, Haulover and Hallandale Beach.
Begins at 8:30 a.m. at the University of Miami in Coral Gables and finishes about two to three hours later at Hard Rock Stadium. The route travels through Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Brickell and Biscayne Boulevard, then over the Julia Tuttle Causeway to Miami Beach. From there, riders head north along Collins Avenue through Surfside and Bal Harbour, then continue on an expanded stretch past Haulover and Hallandale Beach before finishing at the F1 Miami Autodrome.
- 13-mile Dan Marino Ride passes through Miami Gardens and Miramar on a new route “with just enough added elevation to keep things fun and interesting,” organizers said on the Dolphins Cancer Challenge website.
Starts at 10 a.m. at Hard Rock Stadium. This police‑escorted route runs through Miami Gardens, cruising west along Miramar Boulevard, before returning to its finish about an hour to 90 minutes later at Hard Rock Stadium.
- The DCC 5K run/walk is contained to the stadium’s Miami International Autodrome and should not affect traffic outside the stadium grounds. This 3.1 mile event starts at 10:45 a.m. and winds through the Miami Grand Prix racetrack from Turn 4 through Turn 10.
