Beds on Wheels: The 2010 Coconut Grove Bed Race

Members of Sandbar Sports Grill's all-female team took first place in the women's division of the Great Grove Bed Race. The event began the night before with a pajama pub crawl. Photo by Brittney Bomnin.

The streets of Coconut Grove were the setting Sunday of a most unusual race to benefit the Alonzo Mourning Charities and the University of Miami Sleep Program.

Among the competitors: A red bed carrying shirtless Miami firefighters; a dragon canopy bed sponsored by Puffpower.com; a red racing car with a touch of Elvis Presley presented by Mosaic Miami Church, and a bed rigged to look just like a speed racer with a purple driver, sponsored by Metro PCS.

It was the second annual 1-800-411-PAIN Great Grove Bed Race, and it brought more than 40,000 people to the streets around Commodore Plaza and Grand Avenue on Sunday afternoon.

“The Bed Race is one of the things that makes Coconut Grove original,” said Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, whose district includes the Grove and who was one of the judges in the contest.

The party actually started Saturday evening with a Pajama Pub Crawl.  On Sunday, the activities included a Family Pajama Party and the Pit Row Parade of decorated beds.

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In addition to Rep. Lopez-Cantera, the judges were Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Carlos Gimenez, Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, Homestead-Miami Speedway President Matt Becherer, actor Steven Bauer, and the day’s grand marshal, Indy 500 racer Tony Kanaan. The host was comedian Johnny Trabs accompanied by DJ Geo.

The race involved 31 teams of five participants — four pushers and one rider — rolling beds down a track one-eighth of a mile long. It sparked plenty of mayhem, including a collision between the Barracuda and the Grove Ink Tattoos teams; the beds belonging to the General Contractor VC Associates and the Firefighters teams were derailed by blown-out tires.

Last year, the race raised $15,000 for the charities, said Mischella Reed, who was in charge of media contact and credentials for the event. This year, the goal was to surpass $20,000, she added.

Grand Marshal Kanaan got into the whacky spirit of the day:

“Hot guys, hot ladies racing beds today,” mused Kanaan, who donated $5,000 for the charities.

Bed races were held in South Florida for 30 years until they stopped in 2001. The Grove Merchant Group decided to revive and reinvent the event in 2009.