The AIDS/LifeCycle ride is passing through the Central Coast this week for the last time.
The iconic seven-day, 545-mile ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles is coming to an end this year due to a decline in ridership and production costs.
Officials with AIDS/LifeCycle told KSBY that the costs of hosting the event became more expensive after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“After more than 30 years and $300 million raised for the life-saving work of the [Los Angeles LGBT] Center and San Francisco AIDS Foundation, we made the decision to sunset the ride,” said Joe Hollendoner, the CEO of the Los Angeles LGBT Center.
“We saw a real shift in how expensive the event became after the COVID-19 pandemic, just like the world got more expensive for the everyday American, it became more expensive to produce the event,” said Tyler TerMeer, the San Francisco Aids Foundation CEO.
Hollendoner told KSBY news that ridership participation dipped over the last two years.
However, with this year being the last ride, the event sold out, and over 2,200 riders are en route to Los Angeles.
“What's so lovely about it is that we have people who've done every single ride for the last 30 years, and we have newbies, and so it's truly a lovely experience,” Hollendoner said.
Cyclists are required to fundraise a minimum amount of $3,500.
Some riders say they are riding to support those affected by HIV.
“I had already signed up before they announced it was the end, so it's a really special kind of culminating event and trying to raise, you know, a record amount of money to support the fight to end HIV/AIDS,” said Peter Bertelsen, AIDS/LifeCycle rider.
“It means a lot to me," Andrew Quinlan, another rider at the event, said. "I have some very important people in my life that are impacted [by] HIV/AIDS, and so I'm here for them.”
The AIDS/LifeCycle comes to its final stop this Saturday in Los Angeles.
