AIDS/LifeCycle

AIDS/LifeCycle (ALC) is a seven-day cycling tour through California starting in San Francisco and ending in Los Angeles.

AIDS/LifeCycle's logo

Description

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.

History

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.[1]

ALC 1 - 2002

Riders: 668 Revenue: $4,735,000[2]

ALC 2 - 2003

Riders: 1009 Revenue: $4,258,000[3]

ALC 3 - 2004

Riders: 1200 Revenue: $5,105,000[4]

ALC 4 - 2005

Riders: 1611 Revenue: $7,156,000[5]

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.[6]

ALC 5 - 2006

Riders: 1767 Revenue: $8,031,000[7]

ALC 6 - 2007

Riders: 2341 Revenue: $10,685,176[8]

ALC 7 - 2008

Riders: 2479 Revenue: $12,365,325[9]

For the first time, AIDS/Lifecycle closed registration early because of an unprecedented number of registrants.[10]

ALC 8 - 2009

Riders: 2158 Revenue: $11,055,000[11]

Due to higher costs combined with closing registration at around 2500 cyclists, the event now requires a $3000 minimum for cyclist.

ALC 9 - 2010

Riders: 1903 Revenue: $10,099,209[12]

ALC 10 - 2011

Riders: 2362 Revenue: $13,357,701[13]

ALC 10 started on June 5, 2011, exactly thirty years after The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued its first report about HIV/AIDS, then known as Gay-Related Immune Deficiency (GRID).[14]

ALC 11 - 2012

Riders: 2209 Revenue: $12,802,110[15]

ALC 12 - 2013

Riders: 2206 Revenue: $14,511,424[16]

ALC 13 - 2014

Riders: 2348 Revenue: $15,490,142[17]

ALC2015

Riders: 2401 Revenue: $16,672,273[18]

LA based drag Queens Alaska Thunderfuck 5000 and Willam Belli release 'Ride for AIDS' song and music video, parody of Blank Space by Taylor Swift.[19]

ALC2016

Riders: 2372 Revenue: $16.1 million[20]

ALC2017

Riders: 222431 Revenue: $15.444222 million [21]

ALC2018

Riders: 2300+ Revenue: $16.6 million [22]

Notable Riders

Positive Pedalers (2002- ) is a team composed of AIDS and HIV+ riders. Their mission is to eliminate stigma through a positive public example.

Chicken Lady (2002- ) is a rider who wears a chicken purse and stuffed chicken on their helmet for the duration of the ride. On the 7th and final day of the ride, Chicken Lady leaves a plastic Easter egg on the seat of every rider. Chicken Lady is also known to stop and leave Easter eggs along the route.

Team Cretins (2014- ) is a San Diego-based team which rides the entirety of the route on fixed gear bicycles.[23]

Edna Flores-Lagunte and Team Edna (2002- ) Flores-Lagunte was a rider from Northern California who participated in 13 AIDS/Lifecycle rides.[24] She passed away in 2014. The following year a riders developed Team Edna to honor her memory and continue her ride. Since 2014 the team has been one of the top fundraisers.

Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (2006- )[25] who sometimes ride, sometimes roadie, often lead the ride's Ventura Beach candlelight vigil.[26]

Celebrity trainers Cara Castronuova (The Biggest Loser) and Scott Herman (The Real World: Brooklyn) participated as riders in 2010.[27]

Congressman Adam Schiff participated as a rider in 2014.[28]

Australian born drag queen Courtney Act participated as a rider in 2015.[29]

Actor and YouTube personality Frankie Grande participated as a rider in 2018 and is planning on riding again in 2019.[30]

Winter Olympian Silver Medalist Gus Kenworthy is a 2019 AIDS/LifeCycle rider and has set an ambitious fundraising goal of $1 million.[31]

Traditions
  • Riderless Bicycle
  • Red Dress Day - During the fifth and shortest day of the ride, participants wear the color red, usually a red dress.
  • Ginger Brewlay - She is usually on the roughest hill of the day, cheering on the riders and posing with them. Her outfits are outlandish and creative.
  • The Chicken Lady - A long-time rider who usually wears chicken-themed items, including a colorful skirt, silver stockings, a purse shaped like a chicken and over-the-top sunglasses.
  • Teams - Riders have the option, but are not required, to join a team when they sign up for the event. There are usually dozens of social and corporate teams on the ride.
  • Talent Show
  • Rest Stops Themes - Most, if not all, of the 25+ rest stops during the AIDS/Lifecycle embrace a different theme. The rest stop roadies dress in costume, decorate the area and often provide a fun and memorable photo opportunity for riders. Rest stop 4, the last rest stop on most days of the ride, is known for its elaborate costumes and choreographed performances.
  • Day 6: Candlelight Vigil - On the shore of Ventura Beach. Up to 3,000 people create a massive rectangle of silent reverence for those lost and those suffering.
  • Bradley - The kids, faculty and parents from the local Bradley school put on a barbecue to raise money for extracurricular activities. The kids dress in ALC tee-shirts and sell buttons and pens.
  • Otter Pop Stop - On day two, the longest day, folks from the Bay Area drive down to the historic Mission Soledad, in Soledad, California, and create a rest stop with a crazy beach party like atmosphere where frozen Otter Pops are served to the riders, with music, dancing, and outlandishly costumed volunteers in tutus.

Camping

Riders, roadies and staff end each of the first 6 days in camp, a fully supported campsite with portable toilets, shower trucks, hot meals, medical services, bike mechanics and more. Tents are provided by AIDS/Lifecycle, but participants do need to bring sleeping bags.

Training rides

The AIDS/LifeCycle community holds training rides throughout the year. These rides are coordinated by AIDS/Lifecycle Training Ride Leaders, volunteers who have completed at least 1 AIDS/Lifecycle and an official Training Ride Leader certification. Rides are listed on the AIDS/Lifecycle Training Ride Calendar and vary by category, terrain and length.

Services supported by event

San Francisco AIDS Foundation

Established in 1982, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation is one of the oldest and largest community-based AIDS service organizations in the United States. The mission of the agency is to end the pandemic and the human suffering caused by HIV.

Los Angeles LGBT Center

The Los Angeles LGBT Center has been a leader in battling AIDS and caring for those who are HIV-infected since the earliest days of the pandemic. In 1982 the Center founded the Southern California AIDS Hotline, which would later become AIDS Project Los Angeles. In 1985, the Center opened California's first HIV testing site. By 1986, the Center's Ed D. Edelman Health Clinic was the largest HIV clinic in the nation.

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See also

References
  1. The big wheel / Critics don't faze Dan Pallotta, who has helped raise big bucks for AIDS research - and his company
  2. "Measures of Success". AIDS/Lifecycle. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  3. "Measures of Success". AIDS/Lifecycle. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  4. "Measures of Success". AIDS/Lifecycle. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  5. "Measures of Success". AIDS/Lifecycle. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  6. "7 Days to End AIDS". Netflix. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  7. "Measures of Success". AIDS/Lifecycle. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  8. "Measures of Success". AIDS/Lifecycle. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  9. "Measures of Success". AIDS/Lifecycle. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  10. Diaz, Gill. "Registration closes months early for world's annual AIDS fundraiser". Los Angeles LGBT Center.
  11. "Measures of Success". AIDS/Lifecycle. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  12. "Measures of Success". AIDS/Lifecycle. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  13. "Measures of Success". AIDS/Lifecycle. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  14. "2,350 AIDS/Lifecycle riders raise record $13+ million". AIDS/Lifecycle.
  15. "Measures of Success". AIDS/Lifecycle. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  16. "Measures of Success". AIDS/Lifecycle. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  17. "Measures of Success". AIDS/Lifecycle. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  18. "Measures of Success". AIDS/Lifecycle. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  19. Preston, Domnic. "Alaska and Willam take on Taylor Swift for AIDS/Lifecycle". FrontiersMedia. Archived from the original on 2016-10-10. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  20. "News". San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  21. AIDS/LifeCycle Cost of Fundraising
  22. AIDS/LifeCycle Participants Raise a Record Breaking $16.6 Million
  23. "Team to ride from SF to LA on fixed-gear bikes". Fox 5. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  24. "Everyone Has a Story, Equally as Important". Huffington Post.
  25. "History". The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence INC. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  26. Wallack, Roy. "Why the AIDS/Lifecycle Tour Keeps Growing". Bicycling.
  27. "2,350 AIDS/Lifecycle riders raise record $13+ million". AIDS/Lifecycle.
  28. "Schiff participates in AIDS/LifeCycle bike ride".
  29. "AIDS Life cycle". CourtneyAct. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  30. "AIDS Life cycle". Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  31. "AIDS Life cycle". Retrieved October 29, 2018.
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