Day two of AIDS/LifeCycle Bicycle Ride takes annual lunch break in Salinas
SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV)- An annual 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise money for AIDS research stopped for its annual lunch break in Salinas on Monday.
According to organizers the AIDS/LifeCycle is the world's largest single-event HIV/AIDS fundraiser. More than 2,000 people participated this year and departed the Cow Palace on Sunday.
They are now on a seven-day journey to bring awareness to the ongoing HIV epidemic, in addition to funding services such as "HIV testing and screenings for other sexually transmitted infections, HIV medical care, prevention services including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), harm reduction services, and more," said organizers.
The money is donated to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the HIV-related services of the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Organzier said they raised $11.7 million this year, which will all go back to help with research.
"More than 40 years into the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States we made incredible progress. People are able to now live long and manage lives if they have access to the care and treatment that they need. But we continue to see disparities like in many other health diseases," said Dr. Tyler TerMeer, Ph.D., CEO of San Francisco AIDS Foundation. "We have individuals from communities of color and individuals who identify as transgender or non-binary who continue to be at increased risk for HIV and often face stigma or discrimination in accessing health care. Now more than ever we have the opportunity to get to zero new infections."
According to the CDC, In 2019, gay and bisexual men made up 69% (25,552) of the 36,801 new HIV diagnoses in the US and dependent areas. In the same year, out of the reported 1.2 million people who had HIV in the United States, 754,7000 were gay and bisexual men.
Also according to the Human Rights Campaign, transgender women are 34 times more likely to be infected with HIV than any other women.
If you'd like to learn more about the event or make a donation, you can click here.
They will now head out and depart from King City at San Lorenzo Park Tuesday morning.
