AIDS/LifeCycle 2020 Has Been Canceled Due to COVID-19

AIDS/LifeCycle has been canceled this year—the first time the 545-mile bike journey has been canceled  since it began in 1994.

In a media release the organizers said:

AIDS/LifeCycle has announced today that the highly-anticipated seven-day, 545-mile journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles has been canceled this year in order to protect vulnerable communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. AIDS/LifeCycle cyclists were scheduled to depart from Cow Palace on Sunday, May 31, and arrive in Los Angeles on Saturday, June 6, with hundreds of volunteer “roadies” supporting them during their weeklong journey.

Announcement of the cancellation was made in a video released to riders and roadies today.

“We have not made this decision lightly, and we have made it in consultation with members of the AIDS/LifeCycle community,” said Los Angeles LGBT Center CEO Lorri L. Jean. “This will be the first time, since we began riding in 1994, that we have had to cancel the ride, so we are navigating unchartered waters. But, Joe [Hollendoner, CEO of San Francisco AIDS Foundation] and I have the utmost faith that we will get through this because of all of you: our beloved Riders and Roadies.”

“The Center and the Foundation will continue to perform the life-saving HIV prevention and care work that our community needs,” Hollendoner said. “In fact, it’s anything but ‘business as usual’ at San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Not only are we providing the services we typically do, we are also using the expertise both of our agencies have developed—responding to the AIDS epidemic—to do everything we can to make sure that our communities aren’t devastated by coronavirus.”

AIDS/LifeCycle participants are encouraged to continue fundraising and join AIDS/LifeCycle 2021 (dates still to be determined). In 2019 participants raised a record-breaking $16.7 million to support San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the HIV/AIDS-related services of the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

AIDS/LifeCycle is a fully supported, 545-mile bike ride—not a race—that raises important awareness about the ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic, in addition to funding critical services such as HIV testing and screenings for other sexually transmitted infections, HIV medical care, prevention services, and more. Plans will be released soon on how the AIDS/LifeCycle community can continue to support the vital work of the Center and Foundation during these unprecedented times.

The Ride debuted in 1994 as the California AIDS Ride before it was reconfigured in 2002 to what is known today as AIDS/LifeCycle. Prior to 2019’s total, participants raised more than $263 million and completed more than 60,000 journeys from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

For more information about AIDS/LifeCycle or to watch the joint statement given by Los Angeles LGBT Center CEO Lorri L. Jean and San Francisco AIDS Foundation CEO Joe Hollendoner, visitaidslifecycle.org.

 

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About AIDS/LifeCycle
AIDS/LifeCycle is a fully-supported, seven-day bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. It’s a life-changing ride— not a race—through some of California’s most beautiful countryside. AIDS/LifeCycle is co-produced by the Los Angeles LGBT Center and San Francisco AIDS Foundation and is designed to advance their shared interest to reduce new HIV transmissions and improve the quality of life for people living with HIV.

About the Los Angeles LGBT Center
Since 1969 the Los Angeles LGBT Center has cared for, championed, and celebrated LGBT individuals and families in Los Angeles and beyond since 1969. Today the Center’s nearly 800 employees provide services for more LGBT people than any other organization in the world, offering programs, services, and global advocacy that span four broad categories: Health, Social Services and Housing, Culture and Education, Leadership and Advocacy. We are an unstoppable force in the fight against bigotry and the struggle to build a better world; a world in which LGBT people thrive as healthy, equal, and complete members of society. Learn more at lalgbtcenter.org.

About San Francisco AIDS Foundation
San Francisco AIDS Foundation works to eliminate HIV transmission and extend the longevity of people living with HIV through a network of direct services, public education and advocacy. Each year, more than 25,000 people look to San Francisco AIDS Foundation to access health services, find inclusive communities and gain a voice against discrimination and injustice at all levels of government. Learn more at sfaf.org.