While the annual AIDSWalk won’t be going through West Hollywood anymore, now AIDS/LifeCycle will.
An estimated 2,500 cyclists will pedal through West Hollywood on June 11 to complete their 545-mile fundraising ride at Fairfax High School. For many years the event, which starts in San Francisco, ended at the Veterans Administration Center in West Los Angeles, which no longer is available for non-veteran related activities.
According to a press release from the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the riders will represent almost every state and 17 countries. The event is on track to raise more than $16 million for San Francisco AIDS Foundation and HIV/AIDS-related services of the LA LGBT Center.
The cyclists, supported by approximately 650 volunteer “roadies,” will begin their seven-day journey from San Francisco on June 5. The finish line festival at Fairfax High School will include live music, food vendors, a cheering section for friends and family to welcome the cyclists and a closing ceremony. More than 250 volunteers are being sought to assist in a variety of ways including set up and breakdown, crowd and traffic control and distribution of t-shirts and beverages. Lunch will be provided to volunteers, who will also receive a commemorative AIDS/LifeCycle volunteer t-shirt. Volunteers can register online.
The riders will be headed north on Doheny Drive and then will turn right on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. They will continue along Santa Monica until they reach North Ogden Drive, at which point they will turn right and head towards Fairfax High School.
Cyclists are expected to cross the finish line as early as 11 a.m. The grandstand entrance to the Fairfax campus is located east of Melrose Avenue and Ogden Drive. There will be parking for spectators at the Petersen Automotive Museum, 6060 Wilshire Blvd., and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. The cost of parking will be $12 and a free shuttle will ferry spectators to and from Fairfax every 25 minutes between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.
“Just in time for L.A. Pride, when thousands of visitors will converge in West Hollywood—a city which embraced the ride when it began as California AIDS Ride—we are making the bold statement that we will continue to ride until HIV/AIDS is over,” said AIDS/LifeCycle Senior Director Greg Sroda. “Our cyclists and roadies have journeyed 545 miles through California to get this far. Join me in giving them a much-deserved hero’s welcome!”
AIDS/LifeCycle’s sponsors include FedEx Corporation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Gilead Sciences, Wells Fargo, and the official bike sponsor, Cannondale.
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