Those wishing to take part in endurance bicycle rides will have ample opportunity next year, as two San Francisco LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS organizations have each announced separate events both headed to Sonoma County. The news comes as the San Francisco AIDS Foundation bids farewell to its long-running seven-day AIDS/LifeCycle ride in June and embarks on a shorter event for 2026.
It plans to host a three-day cycling ride in spring 2026. Meanwhile, LGBTQ sober space the Castro Country Club will host its inaugural Recovery Ride in September 2026.
The organizations issued a joint statement May 1 announcing their events. The money raised by each event will support the programs and services of their respective nonprofits.
Both have locations in the heart of the city’s LGBTQ neighborhood. The foundation’s Strut health center is on the 400 block of Castro Street, while a short walk away is the Castro Country Club housed in an old Victorian on 18th Street.
The planned cycling fundraisers will launch in the wake of the last AIDS/LifeCycle, the 545-mile ride that leaves San Francisco June 1, held in conjunction with the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Its beneficiary agencies announced last September that the 2025 edition, which ends in Los Angeles June 7, would be the last.
SFAF and the LA center cited skyrocketing production costs in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic for the decision to end the ride and noted that AIDS/LifeCycle fundraising had been on the decline. The ride started in 1994 and brought in $300 million to the two organizations for their HIV/AIDS services over three decades, according to the agencies.
SFAF has more modest goals for its new ride, hoping to raise about $1.5 million, spokesperson Emily Land said.
Land told the Bay Area Reporter that the foundation and Castro Country Club decided to make the announcement together “to help prevent any confusion as to why these two different events are coming out at the same time. The two organizations wanted to lift each other up, and each other’s events up.”
The SFAF ride will begin in San Francisco, include a day of riding through Sonoma County, and end up back in the City by the Bay. A name has not yet been decided, and people can submit an idea or vote for a name – or otherwise indicate interest – at sfaf.org/biketour.
There is not yet a fundraising minimum for the event, Land stated.
This event will take place before a one-day ride event SFAF will hold in fall 2026, and the return of the Big Gay 10K run it is reviving in spring 2027.
“We are excited to share with our communities the news of a series of SFAF endurance events that answer the long-awaited question of ‘what’s next’ after the final AIDS/LifeCycle. And, we are thrilled to make our announcement in tandem with a beloved community partner,” stated Tyler TerMeer, Ph.D., a gay Black man living with HIV who’s CEO of SFAF. “As funding for HIV, LGBTQ+, and equity-based prevention work continues to be at risk – or to be abruptly cut – it is more important than ever before for us to come together in partnership to support and protect the programs, services, and needs of our community.”
Asked if the new fundraising events will help with present and potential future budget cuts from the Trump administration – SFAF is currently involved in litigation with the federal government over stop-work orders and termination notices for federal funds after executive orders from President Donald Trump – Land stated, “We hope that this new event will help our agency replace funds lost by ending AIDS/LifeCycle and funds cut federally for HIV prevention, HIV support, harm reduction, equity-based work, and programs serving transgender communities.”
The new ride will see some differences from the AIDS/LifeCycle.
“The new event will be three days over a weekend versus seven, starting and ending in San Francisco, and traveling through the North Bay versus a trip down the coast of California,” Land stated. “Similar to AIDS/LifeCycle, the new event will be fully supported – with rest stops, camping, and food provided along the way. The event will benefit San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s programs and services, and will not be co-produced by two different agencies but in-house with the events team at SFAF.”
Land added, “Some aspects of how the event will be organized behind the scenes may differ as well, in order to keep operating/organizational costs down. These details are currently being decided as planning progresses.”
Recovery Ride
The Castro Country Club’s event, Recovery Ride, is scheduled from September 11-13, 2026, and will include a round-trip bike ride from Sausalito to Guerneville. The fundraising minimum is $1,500.
There will be rest stops and meals provided, with overnight camping in Guerneville. Day two will be “a day of fellowship with meetings, speakers, and other activities,” the release stated.
“There are so many inspiring examples from LGBTQ+ history of how our communities achieve more when we come together to lift one another up and fight to protect each other,” Billy Lemon, a gay man who is the executive director of the Castro Country Club, stated in the release. “From the Stonewall uprising to examples of community care and mutual aid during the HIV crisis, we are inspired by the resilience and strength of our queer community and allies. Together, we will continue to fight for the lives, and the health, of us all.”
Jaime Robert Peruffo-Gambale, a gay longtime participant in AIDS/LifeCycle, stated in the release that, “Castro Country Club and San Francisco AIDS Foundation are two community organizations that have meaningfully benefited my life.”
“As a person who has lost a parent to the epidemic, and who has had my own journey with substance use, I know that these issues affect many in our community and go hand-in-hand,” Peruffo-Gambale stated. “It’s important for me to step up and give back so that these organizations are able to continue to deliver care and services. I ride for all of the people we’ve lost to HIV, for those of us who have battled addiction, and to end the shame and stigma.”
People seeking more information on the Recovery Ride should reach out to [email protected].
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