AIDS/LifeCycle (ALC) is a seven-day cycling tour through California starting in San Francisco and ending in Los Angeles. Since its start in 1994 (as California AIDS Ride between 1994-2002), the program has raised over $300 million for HIV- and AIDS-related services of the Los Angeles LGBT Center and San Francisco AIDS Foundation. The final ride will occur in 2025. [1]
AIDS/LifeCycle is a charity event to raise money for HIV/AIDS services and raise HIV/AIDS awareness. Participants (riders, roadies, and staff) raise money throughout the year. In the first week of June, the riders cycle from San Francisco to Los Angeles with the support of the roadies and staff. For seven days, ALC passes through communities in California as a memorial to those who have died of AIDS and as an event to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. Each day of riding can range from 40-100+ miles. At the end of each day of riding, cyclists arrive in a camp to eat, shower, and rest before riding out again the next morning. Currently (as of ALC 6-8) the route is a total of about 545 miles. Mileage may change due to route/road constructions and availability of campsites.
In 2002, AIDS/LifeCycle was started by former Pallotta Teamworks Vice President Kevin Honeycutt, replacing the Pallotta Teamworks California AIDSRide after it was mired in controversy. [2]
Logo TV produced a multiple episode show for its network called 'The Ride: 7 Days to End AIDS'. The show highlights the experiences of several cyclists both those who have lost family and those who are HIV survivors. The show is available for rent from Netflix. [3]
In 2008, AIDS/Lifecycle closed registration early because of an unprecedented number of registrants. [4]
In 2024, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and Los Angeles LGBT Center announced the final year for the ride being 2025, due to increasing costs and the lack of funds as well as support to keep the event going each year. Since COVID, there has been a huge drop each year in attendance and fundraising costs. [5] [6]
Critical Mass is a form of direct action in which people travel as a group on bicycles at a set location and time. The idea is for people to group together to make it safe for each other to ride bicycles through their streets, based on the old adage: there's safety in numbers.
Willie Lewis Brown Jr. is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as mayor of San Francisco from 1996 to 2004 as the first African American to hold the office.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (SPI), also called Order of Perpetual Indulgence (OPI), is a charitable, protest, and street performance movement that uses drag and religious imagery to satirize issues of sex, gender, and morality and fundraise for charity. In 1979, a small group of gay men in San Francisco began wearing the attire of Catholic nuns in visible situations using camp to promote various social and political causes in the Castro District.
A fixed-gear bicycle is a bicycle that has a drivetrain with no freewheel mechanism such that the pedals always will spin together with the rear wheel. The freewheel was developed early in the history of bicycle design but the fixed-gear bicycle remained the standard track racing design. More recently the "fixie" has become a popular alternative among mainly urban cyclists, offering the advantage of simplicity compared with the standard multi-geared bicycle.
Bicycle culture can refer to a mainstream culture that supports the use of bicycles or to a subculture. Although "bike culture" is often used to refer to various forms of associated fashion, it is erroneous to call fashion in and of itself a culture.
Positive Pedalers is a non-profit 7 corporation for people with HIV/AIDS or supporters of people living with HIV/AIDS, which organizes bicycle-related activities.
APLA Health is a non-profit organization based in California, United States, focused on building healthcare capacity and promoting wellbeing for LGBT people and those living with HIV. It was founded as AIDS Project Los Angeles in 1983, and is now among the largest non-profit HIV service organizations in the United States.
The AIDSRides were a series of fundraising events organised by Pallotta TeamWorks which raised more than $105 million for critical AIDS services and medical research. About half of the money raised directly benefited AIDS patients.
AIDS Vaccine 200 is a charity bike ride through the scenic Georgia countryside. The ride raises awareness and vital funds for HIV/AIDS vaccine research having donated to date over $3.5 million to the Emory Vaccine Center, one of the world's leading vaccine research centers working to find an HIV vaccine, and other beneficiaries.
Scott Wiener is an American politician who has served in the California State Senate since 2016. A Democrat, he represents the 11th district, encompassing San Francisco and parts of San Mateo County. He is also the co-chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus.
Cycling in San Francisco has grown in popularity in recent years, aided by improving cycling infrastructure and community support. San Francisco's compact urban form and mild climate enable cyclists to reach work, shopping, and recreational destinations quickly and comfortably. Though San Francisco's famed steep hills can make cycling difficult, many parts of the city are relatively flat, including some of the most densely populated. However, heavy automobile traffic, the lack of bike lanes on many streets, and difficulty in crossing major streets deter most residents from cycling frequently in San Francisco.
Michael Chacon is a professional fixed-gear bicycle rider. He is ranked among the top fixed freestyle riders in the world. Chacon started riding fixed gear bikes in his hometown of Culver City, CA in 2009. Before turning professional, Chacon gained a local following performing freestyle tricks along the boardwalk of Venice Beach, CA. Since his pro debut in February 2010 he has won and placed in fixed gear competitions internationally.
Daniel M. Pallotta is an American entrepreneur, author, and humanitarian activist. He is best known for his involvement in multi-day charitable events with the long-distance Breast Cancer 3-Day walks, AIDS Rides bicycle journeys, and Out of the Darkness suicide prevention night walks. Over nine years, 182,000 people participated in these events and raised $582 million. They were the subject of a Harvard Business School case study. He is the author of Uncharitable – How Restraints on Nonprofits Undermine Their Potential, the best-selling title in the history of Tufts University Press. He is also the author of Charity Case: How the Nonprofit Community Can Stand Up for Itself and Really Change the World, and When Your Moment Comes – a Guide to Fulfilling Your Dreams. He is the president of Advertising for Humanity and president and founder of the Charity Defense Council. He is a featured contributor to Harvard Business Review online.
The UCSF Alliance Health Project (AHP), formerly the AIDS Health Project, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides mental health and wellness services for the HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ communities in San Francisco. It is part of the University of California, San Francisco Department of Psychiatry. In addition to direct service to individuals, it also undertakes HIV prevention and LGBTQ mental health research and educates mental health and health care providers about best practices.
The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) community in San Francisco is one of the largest and most prominent LGBT communities in the United States, and is one of the most important in the history of American LGBT rights and activism alongside New York City. The city itself has been described as "the original 'gay-friendly city'". LGBT culture is also active within companies that are based in Silicon Valley, which is located within the southern San Francisco Bay Area.
Nikki Calma, better known as Tita Aida, is a social activist from San Francisco, California. She is a long-time advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness, particularly among Asian American communities, and for transgender people.
The National Association of Black and White Men Together, Inc.: A Gay Multiracial Organization for All People (NABWMT) is a network of chapters across the United States focused on LGBTQ and racial equality, founded in May, 1980 in San Francisco as a consciousness-raising, multicultural organization and support group for gay men forming multiracial relationships. To attain these ends, its local chapters organized social gatherings and engaged in educational, cultural, and political activities. It is a registered IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. NABWMT's goals consist of two major themes: combating racism within the LGBT community and combating homophobia in general society.
Cecilia Chung is a civil rights leader and activist for LGBT rights, HIV/AIDS awareness, health advocacy, and social justice. She is a trans woman, and her life story was one of four main storylines in the 2017 ABC miniseries When We Rise about LGBT rights in the 1970s and 1980s.
San Jose Bike Party is a monthly social bicycle ride event in and around San Jose, California held on the third Friday of every month. Attendance varies with weather and time of year, usually ranging from hundreds in the winter months to low thousands in the summer. Established in 2007, it is the original 'bike party' now replicated in other cities around the world. Its motto is "Building community through cycling".
Rose Greene was an American activist and financial planner based on Los Angeles. She is remembered for organizing and launching a major fundraiser for HIV/AIDS care, the California AIDS Ride, a 545-mile bike ride along the coast of California.