This conversation aired in the June 9, 2025 episode of Crosscurrents.
Click the button above to listen.
As most of you know, June is Pride Month and today, more than two thousand cyclists from across the country will be making their way home after spending the last week biking the entire 545 mile journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
These riders are as young as 18 and as old as 87. They rode in the wind, on highways, back roads, along the coastline up and down many, many hills. All to raise money and bring a three decade long tradition to a close.
These are the last riders of the AIDS LifeCycle ride.
Why We Ride: The Story of AIDS/LifeCycle (YouTube Clip): “It’s really hard to describe this event for people who don’t know about it, i would say to them this is the opportunity to come together to raise money for the fight against AIDS, but in the process there is a phenomenal community that develops. It’s gonna take people of every different, every race, every gender, every age, every sexual orientation coming together being focused on one single goal and that’s ending the epidemic.”
The tradition started in 1994 and was first called the “California AIDS Ride.” It rebranded in 2002 and has now gone on to raise over three hundred million dollars for HIV and AIDS services and resources. With the hope of one day ending AIDS.
The ride is grueling, riders can cover anywhere from 43 to 112 miles in a single day. And this year each cyclist raised at least three thousand dollars from friends, family, the community and sponsors. But they also get a lot of support on the journey from their “roadies.” People who join the ride, not as cyclists, but full time volunteers that dedicate their time to setting up and moving the many camps, help maintain bikes and provide medical care. It’s HUNDREDS of people.
That’s why the LifeCycle ride has also been known as “The Moving City.”
AIDS Life Cycle 2015 - Roadie Entrance! (YouTube clip): “Six hundred and nineteen volunteers have kept you hydrated they kept you fed, they kept you moving. They worked tirelessly setting up camp, keeping you safe and helped you find the road and so much more, lets hear it for the roadies! Lets hear it for rest stop one! Rest stop two!...”
However, all that came to an abrupt halt in 2020 when COVID shut down the ride. Even after it restarted, participation had declined while the costs of fundraising rose. That’ why the organizers made the decision to make this year, the last ride.
The ride always had the goal of raising awareness and funds for HIV and AIDS patients, but it went on to do so much more. And one long time participant from our KALW community knows that well.
Jon Carroll is our Director of Operations & Strategic Growth and you may recognize his voice from our pledge drives. This year’s final ride will be his tenth LifeCycle journey.
