AIDS/LifeCycle

AIDS/LifeCycle (ALC) is an annual, 7-day AIDS fundraiser in which up to 2,500 bicyclist and 500+ roadie (support crew) participants bicycle or crew from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise money for HIV/AIDS services, & raise awareness of HIV/AIDS. The first AIDS/LifeCycle was in 2002. AIDS/LifeCycle is managed by, and benefits, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center (both of which offers STD testing and prevention, medical care and counseling, among other HIV/AIDS services). In the most recent AIDS/LifeCycle in 2008, the full roster of 2500 cyclists was filled up for the first time, and over $11.6 million dollars was raised. [http://www.aidslifecycle.org/press/reg_closed.html]

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 through out 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 pass 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 day of riding, cyclists arrive in a camp to eat, shower, and rest before riding out again the next morning.

History of AIDS/LifeCycle

Relation to California AIDS Ride

In 2001 AIDS/LifeCycle was started by former Pallotta Teamworks Vice President Kevin Honeycutt, replacing the Pallotta Teamworks California AIDSRide after it was mired controversy. [ [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/05/03/WB243046.DTL The big wheel / Critics don't faze Dan Pallotta, who has helped raise big bucks for AIDS research - and his company ] ]

Traditions of AIDS/LifeCycle

*Riderless Bicycle *
*Positive Pedalers [http://www.pospeds.org/] *
*Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence*
*Dress in Red Day (Red Dress Day)
*Ginger Brewlay
*Chicken Lady *
*Teams
*Fashion Show
*Rest Stops Themes
*Day 6: Candlelight Vigil
*Bradley
*Casmalia

-*Traditions inspired by the original AIDS Ride

ALC 1

ALC 2

ALC ...

ALC 7

* For the first time, ALC closed registration early because of an unprecedented number of registrants. [http://www.aidslifecycle.org/press/reg_closed.html]
* More than 2500 riders and 500 roadies raised over $11 million for HIV/AIDS services. [http://www.aidslifecycle.org/press/alc7_main.html]

eismic Challenge

Because of ALC attracts more riders than can registers, the Seismic Challenge was started in 2008.

[http://www.tofighthiv.org/site/TR/SFAFCyclingEvent/SFAFEnduranceEventsTrainingProgram?fr_id=1050&pg=entry Seismic Challenge]

ervices Supported by AIDS/LifeCycle

At SFAF

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.
* Services for Clients
The San Francisco AIDS Foundation provides vital services and programs designed to improve the quality of life for people living with HIV/AIDS and to reduce the number of new infections that occur each year.
* Education and Information
The San Francisco AIDS Foundation continues to be a leader in educating at-risk communities about HIV/AIDS prevention and in connecting thousands of people to the critical information they need to make informed decisions about HIV-related risk and health.
* Advocacy and Public Policy Efforts
The San Francisco AIDS Foundation advocates at the federal, state and local levels to ensure that hundreds of thousands of people affected by HIV and AIDS have access to care, treatment, housing, and prevention services, and that they benefit from related research efforts.
* Global AIDS Programs
The Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation is an affiliate of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Pangaea's mission is to broaden access to HIV/AIDS antiretroviral treatment and care around the world, with special emphasis on resource-limited settings. [http://www.pgaf.org/ Pangaea] provides assistance to in-country and international partners in the development of healthcare infrastructure for HIV treatment efforts. [http://www.aidslifecycle.org/press/sfaffact.html]

At LAGLC

The L.A. Gay & Lesbian 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.
* Medical Care
The Center's Jeffrey Goodman Special Care Clinic offers people living with HIV/AIDS comprehensive free or low-cost primary and specialty medical care. The clinic's staff of HIV/AIDS specialists--including board-certified physicians, social services case managers, adherence counselors and a nutritionist--care for more than 1,800 people each year, most of whom have no other access to medical care.
* Mental Health Services
In addition to the Goodman Clinic's medical services, the Center's staff of mental health professionals offer one-on-one and group therapy to help people struggling with HIV overcome substance abuse and addiction, adhere to difficult HIV drug regimens, improve self-esteem, survive the trauma of a new HIV diagnosis and manage other issues they may be facing. The program serves more than 1,500 people each year.
* Pharmacy
The Center's on-site pharmacy serves those most in need, providing specialized drug therapy management. Last year, the pharmacy distributed more than $21 million worth of HIV/AIDS medications through the federally funded AIDS Drug Assistance Program.
* HIV Testing
The Center tests 800-1,000 people for HIV each month and was one of the first in the nation to adopt rapid HIV testing. A mobile unit--POW! (Prevention on Wheels)--takes HIV-prevention and safer sex information, as well as testing and counseling services, directly to those who are at-risk and hard to reach, primarily gay, bisexual and transgender youth-of-color. Those who test positive can be referred immediately to the Goodman Clinic or other Center programs for treatment or counseling.
* HIV Prevention
The Center works to reduce the spread of HIV through myriad education and prevention services, including: Man2Man, a series of safer-sex workshops and events; HIV Stops with Me, a program that runs a social marketing campaign to reduce the risk of HIV infection; WeHo LIFE, a program running a variety of HIV prevention and social opportunities to reduce the risk of infection for those who live or work in West Hollywood; and Positive Images, a "live better program" for HIV-positive people.
The Center's California AIDS Clearinghouse helps reduce the spread of HIV throughout the state by developing and providing culturally appropriate HIV educational materials and training to community-based organizations, AIDS service organizations and healthcare providers throughout California. [http://www.aidslifecycle.org/press/laglcfact.html]

tatistics on AIDS LifeCycle

With each successive AIDS/LifeCycle, the relative cost to produce the event has dropped.

Full statistics are available at [http://www.aidslifecycle.org/beneficiaries/measures.html] .

About Riding on the Event

Riding anchor|Rider

Training Rides and Training Ride Leaders

Roadies

taff

Camping

ee also

* Positive pedalers
* Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center
* San Francisco AIDS Foundation
* List of health related charity fundraisers
* AIDSRide
* Empire State AIDS Ride
* Wisconsin AIDS Ride
* New Jersey Ride Against AIDS

References

External links

* [http://www.aidslifecycle.org AIDS/LifeCycle]
* [http://www.sfaf.org San Francisco AIDS Foundation]
* [http://www.laglc.org Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center]
* [http://www.pgaf.org/about.html Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation]
* [http://www.pospeds.org/ Positive Pedalers]
* [http://www.thesisters.org/ Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence]
* [http://www.tofighthiv.org/site/TR/SFAFCyclingEvent/SFAFEnduranceEventsTrainingProgram?fr_id=1050&pg=entry Seismic Challenge]
* [http://www.empirestateaidsride.org/ Empire State AIDS Ride]
* [http://www.actride.org/ Wisconsin AIDS Ride]
* [http://www.njrideagainstaids.org/ New Jersey Ride Against AIDS]