New California ride from SF to LA not affiliated with AIDS/Lifecycle, say Los Angeles LGBT Center and San Francisco AIDS Foundation
Contact: media@sfaf.org
SAN FRANCISCO, June 4, 2026–The Los Angeles LGBT Center and San Francisco AIDS Foundation, the two producers and beneficiaries of the former 7-day cycling event AIDS/LifeCycle, wish to make it clear that a recently announced multi-day cycling event from San Francisco to Los Angeles is not affiliated with AIDS/LifeCycle, nor benefiting the mission and work of either community organization.
“We are aware that many AIDS/LifeCycle community members received an email about this new cycling event that misrepresents the new event as a continuation of AIDS/LifeCycle’s mission,” said Joe Hollendoner, MSW, CEO of the Los Angeles LGBT Center. “We want to be clear that this event is not a continuation of AIDS/LifeCycle, and we are not aware of any meaningful connections that this new event has to California or to HIV/AIDS or LGBTQ+ organizations here.”
“It is disappointing that any new ride would seek to capitalize off of and misrepresent their event as a continuation of our 30 year history,” said Tyler TerMeer, PhD, CEO of San Francisco AIDS Foundation. “During these challenging times, it is important that organizations are working together to care for our communities. Unfortunately, that is not what is happening with the roll-out of this new event.”
Both CEOs confirmed that organizers of the newly-announced California ride had reached out to discuss a possible partnership, but during the initial discussion, no plans were shared for how the Florida-based nonprofit would overcome the high cost of fundraising and other structural barriers, which led the organizations to make the difficult decision to sunset the event and pivot to a more sustainable 3-day model. Although both organizations were open to additional conversations with organizers, none were pursued, making today’s announcement about the planned event surprising and disappointing.
San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center also wish to make clear that the organizations did not provide email lists or other participant information to the organizers of the new event. The email sent to past AIDS/LifeCycle participants about the new event was sent without knowledge or authorization, as doing so would violate the agencies’ own policies. SFAF and the Los Angeles LGBT Center are actively investigating how participant contact information was obtained, and taking formal action to protect participant data and hold the responsible parties accountable. The organizations encourage anyone who received the email who does not wish to receive further correspondence from the entity to unsubscribe from their email list.
The legacy of AIDS/LifeCycle continues through two new events, both which debuted in 2026.
Center Ride Out (April 23-25, 2027), benefits the Los Angeles LGBT Center in Southern California. Cycle to Zero (May 21-23, 2027), benefits San Francisco AIDS Foundation in Northern California.
“We thank our communities for helping to make the inaugural years of our new 3-day events a success,” said Hollendoner and TerMeer. “ We hope more former participants will join us next year to ensure the legacy and love created during AIDS/LifeCycle lives on.”
