LGBTQ+ charity bike rides: the complete guide
AIDS/LifeCycle ended in 2025, but the tradition split into new rides — and the regional classics never stopped. Here's the national map of queer charity cycling, and how to get on a start line.
AIDS/LifeCycle is gone. The seven-day, 545-mile ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles held its final edition in June 2025, after raising close to $300 million over three decades. But the tradition it built — queer people and allies riding long distances to fund HIV services and LGBTQ+ community care — didn't end. It split into new rides, and the older regional rides are still rolling.
The rides, region by region
West Coast. Two rides carry the AIDS/LifeCycle legacy directly. Cycle to Zero is the San Francisco AIDS Foundation's three-day ride through Sonoma wine country. Center Ride Out is the Los Angeles LGBT Center's three-day ride down the coast from LA to San Diego. Both launched in 2026.
Northeast. Cycle for the Cause is the big one — a three-day ride ending in New York City, benefiting the NYC LGBT Community Center's HIV and health programs. It's been running for decades and fills fast.
Texas. The Hill Country Ride for AIDS out of Austin is a one-day ride with multiple distance options that funds a coalition of central-Texas HIV and LGBTQ+ organizations, including Out Youth.
Midwest. Chicago's long-running charity ride scene centers on rides benefiting TPAN and other HIV-service organizations. Formats change year to year — check current listings before you plan a season around one.
Everywhere else. Local pride rides, community century rides with charity components, and one-off memorial rides happen in nearly every state. Your local LGBTQ+ center is the best first call.
How these rides actually work
Almost all of them use the same model: you register, you commit to a fundraising minimum (usually somewhere between a few hundred dollars and a few thousand for multi-day rides), you train, and the event handles routes, food, and support vehicles. Your job is the miles and the fundraising — the ride handles the rest.
You don't need to be fast. Charity rides are the least judgmental cycling you will ever do.
If you've never done one, start with your first charity ride. If the fundraising minimum scares you more than the miles, read how to hit your fundraising minimum.
Why I keep a list like this
Cycle for Change exists because these rides changed what I thought a bike was for. My 10,000-mile year rolls through some of them — every mile counted on the tally, every dollar routed by pledger vote to queer-community orgs.
I do the miles. You decide who they’re for.
In 2027 I ride 10,000 miles, all on the bike, every one of them for queer communities. You pledge a few cents a mile and pick which org it goes to. It starts January 1.