AIDS/LifeCycle Canceled Due to Coronavirus Concerns

This year’s AIDS/LifeCycle has been cancelled.

The annual bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles is considered the largest single HIV/AIDS fundraising events in the world and benefits the Los Angeles LGBT Center and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF). Last year’s ride raised more than $16 million.

Past participants have included Rep. Adam Schiff, Olympian Gus Kenworthy, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” star Courtney Act and Frankie Grande as well as countless Hollywood executives and industry leaders.

“Since the coronavirus emergency started, The Los Angeles LGBT Center and San Francisco AIDS Foundation have been monitoring the guidance of public health officials in order to determine what would be the best course of action to keep our Riders, Roadies and community as safe and healthy as possible,” AIDS/LifeCycle, the LGBT Center and SFAF said in a statement on Tuesday. “Given the recent guidance that limits public gatherings for an indeterminate amount of time, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the AIDS/LifeCycle 2020 event.

“We, along with  AIDS/LifeCycle staff are heartbroken that our favorite week of the year will not be happening, but we remain focused on our commitment to our mission of raising critical funds for the clients of The Los Angeles LGBT Center and San Francisco AIDS Foundation,” the statement continued. “In fact, the state of the public health system has motivated us to double down on our goal to keep raising as much money as possible for the clients served by The Center and SFAF because we know that these funds are critical in protecting our community from the coronavirus and maintaining the HIV and AIDS health care that so many depend on.”

This year’s 545-mile ride was set for May 31 – June 6. More than 12 cyclists were expected to ride along. More than 600 volunteers were set to participate.

First known as the California AIDS Ride, more than $200 million has been raised since it first began in 1993.

You can read about Variety senior editor Marc Malkin’s decision to come out publicly as HIV-positive after participating in the ride here.