Referring to the ALC community as “the Love Bubble,” Joe Hollendoner, CEO of the Los Angeles LGBT Center, noted that 2025’s ridership is likely to hit capacity as people gather for one last hurrah. While no amount of enthusiasm would alter Wednesday’s decision, he said, the ongoing commitment to ending AIDS leaves the door open for a reimagined event. “The possibilities for 2026 are endless,” Hollendoner said, “but we do not think it will look like the 545-mile [ride].”
Curtis Bass, a community engagement representative with AIDS/LifeCycle, confirmed to The Standard that all of the organization’s 18 full-time employees will be laid off as of June 30, 2025. He said even an enormous groundswell of support is unlikely to change that fact.
A marquee Pride Month event, AIDS/LifeCycle is a noncompetitive group bike ride that departs from the Cow Palace on the first Sunday in June and arrives in Los Angeles six days later. Having started in 1994 — the year that HIV transmissions in the U.S. peaked — the event has been known for the large teams of cyclists who raise hundreds of thousands of dollars each year for HIV/AIDS care, testing, and prevention.
Each rider commits to raising a minimum of $3,500; over three decades, ALC has raised approximately $300 million. However, as The Standard previously reported, a post-Covid surge in participation did not last, and ridership dropped precipitously from 2,500 riders in 2022 to around 1,400 in 2024. Total fundraising fell from $17.8 million to $10.9 million over that period, and the ALC organization laid off six people and eliminated four vacant positions in August.
