AIDS Lifecycle, the annual fundraiser for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center, recently ended its last iteration. The fundraiser was first offered in 1994 and back then was called the California AIDS Ride (CAR), and it was organized not by the two non-profits but by Pallotta Teamworks, a for-profit corporation. Apparently unhappy with the proceeds from Pallotta, the two organizations eventually ended their relationship with the company and then went about organizing the same fundraising ride but now under their own auspices starting in 2002. It was rebranded the AIDS Lifecycle.
But did you know there was an earlier “LifeCycle”? In 1986, eight years prior to the AIDS Lifecycle, a man named Scott Lechert from New York organized a cross-country bicycle ride to raise money for AIDS organizations and to increase awareness of the AIDS crisis at a time when there was no concerted national action was taking place. Scott, taking inspiration from the 1985 AIDS Bike-A-Thon “Pedaling for Pride”, first organized an ad hoc bike-a-thon fundraiser in New York, which took place in September 1985. Interestingly he got 62 riders to do the one-way, hundred mile route on Long Island out to East Hampton and netted about $30,000. Those stats are almost the same as our first Bike-A-Thon.
Following that coup Scott apparently was inspired to organize a bike ride that would be much more challenging: a cross-country, self-contained ride from New York to San Francisco. He called the ride Life-Cycle ’86. But at other times it was referred to as Cycle For Life.
Here is an interview with Scott published in the March 1986 ChainLetter:
Interview: Scott Lechert (March 1986 CL)
Different Spokes/San Francisco is not the only organization planning a major fundraiser this year. Diff’rent Spokes/New York has an ambitious ride planned for this year—Life-Cycle ’86. The ChainLetter talked with Scott Lechert, DS/NY member and organizer for this event.
CL: Why are you doing this ride?
SL: The purpose of Life-Cycle ’86 is to raise money for a national AIDS foundation, educate people on AIDS-related issues and display a healthy, positive response to the AIDS crisis. And most importantly, for the participating bicyclists, the ride will be a lot of fun, a chance to meet a lot of very giving and caring people, and an opportunity for some personal growth. I, myself, think it look great on a resume as well.
CL: I understand you are planning on getting across the country and be in San Francisco in time for Gay Games II. When are you beginning?
SL: The starting date is May 26th, Memorial Day.
CL: What will the route be?
SL: We’ll be going through major cities along the way—Cleveland, Chicago, Madison, Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Des Moines, Lincoln. We should be in Denver July 7th. We’ll be arriving at the Youth Hostel in Sausalito on August 2nd and crossing the Golden Gate Bridge sometime in the afternoon on August 3rd.
CL: What support will there be on the ride?
SL: Life-Cycle ’86 will not have sag wagons except for maybe a selected one- or two-week segment. As I said before, one of the goals of this ride is to display a healthy response to the AIDS crisis. By having people carry their own gear, being totally self-sufficient, a certain strength and determination is conveyed to the public. So participating bicyclists are required to be self-sufficient—carrying their own sleeping bag, tent, and other necessary supplies. Not everything is needed though—stoves and other group-use equiupment need not be carried by every person.
CL: Riding loaded across country. How are you going to manage that?
SL: Bicyclists are not required to stay together, ride pacelines or anything. Some people are going to want to be alone on the road. But we will be sleeping and eating dinner together. A typical day will start with everybody being given the route for the day, the finishing point, and potential stops for lunch. We will be riding 65 miles a day, six days a week. Realize though that 65 miles is not a real lot when you start early and go to sleep when the sun sets.
CL: Some people might accuse you of being insensitive about the riders.
SL: I don’t mean to sound like we are not going to be concerned about the welfare of the people on this ride. We want people to participate! The whole concept of Life-Cycle ’86 is to give people the opportunity to participate in a major fundraiser for AIDS organizations. We will help and encourage you during the ride. There will be a contact phone number if anything goes wrong during the ride, and we will try to accommodate people as much as we can. We just want bicyclists doing the whole route to be fairly independent, and to realize that the ride is going to be strenuous at times—and that you may not have a shower for a week sometimes.
CL: You mention fundraising. Will you be doing some?
SL: A lot of the local events will be determined by the involvement of the local communities. We will probably have press conferences in all the major cities, and hopefully benefits as well. Since funds raised in local cities will be split 50/50, we expect a lot of organizations to become involved.
CL: How do you plan on covering the expenses of the ride?
SL: We are trying to arrange to have funds raised to cover expenses of bicyclists riding the entire route. Probably about $700 a head, which really is plenty of money.
CL How many people have expressed interest?
SL: So far there are about 8 people who want to ride the entire distance. This will probably grow as we start to get publicity. The number of people doing segments is hard to determine. Certain segments will be very popular—Madison to Minneapolis, Los Angeles to San Francisco (Ed. note: being planned by members of LA Spokesmen [now renamed Different Spokes Southern California]), and New York to Philadelphia. One thing, this is not a gay event. We have had responses from many non-gay bicyclists, and so far there are more women interested in the ride than men. We’ve also sent soliticitation overseas, so Life-Cycle ’86 will be international in scope.
CL: Any last comments?
SL: I’d like to invite San Francisco riders to join us anywhere along the route. We’ll be staying at the hostel outisde Sausalito and you’re welcome to come spend the night and ride across with us on Sunday the 3rd.
The September 1986 ChainLetter documents the arrival of Life-Cycle in San Francisco:
“CYCLE FOR LIFE SAN FRANCISCO WELCOME
On Sunday, August 3, a contingent of 35+ Spokers met to ‘welcome home’ the 19 cross-country bicyclists who participated in ‘Cycle For Life’, the New York to San Francisco trek. The 55 bicyclists were met at Twin Peaks by 20 members of Leather and Blues MC Club and the Eagles MC Club. With plenty of flash, honking of horns, blowing of whistles and cheers along with some tears, the crew took off down Market, through the Castro, past the AIDS vigil to the finish point at the Ringold Alley Street Fair. The cyclists were welcomed to San Francisco by Board of Supervisor President, John Molinari, who presented them with a proclamation from the City. San Francisco was the only city to officially welcome and acknowledge ‘Cycle For Life’. The welcome ended with a party hosted by the Raw Hide II, the country and western dance bar.”
When Life-Cycle/Cycle for Life was announced, my reaction at the time was along the lines of, ‘this is a crazy idea’. To spend over two months on the road with the prospect of a small amount of money being raised seemed like a lot of bang for a little buck. But the same could be said of the first AIDS Bike-A-Thon. I mean c’mon, ride a hundred miles in a day to raise, what? $33,000? But a spark can light a fire.
I don’t know how much money Life-Cycle eventually raised nor who directly benefitted from their fundraising. Remember too that AIDS wasn’t well-known then except as a source of fear. So Life-Cycle’s awareness raising in the communities through which it rode was equally important. You can read more about the ride in the Bay Area Reporter. In the article the writer Jim Sutherland mentions that four of the seventeen participants were from the Bay Area. By the way two of them, JT Blazer and Jill McIntyre, were members of Different Spokes!
By the way, Diff’rent Spokes/New York disappeared a long time ago. I’m not sure why but probably for the same reasons that Rainbow Cyclists in San Diego, River City Cyclists in Sacramento, and Different Spokes Seattle all eventually folded: the initial leadership cohort moves on and there isn’t a new generation of energized members to take over and direct the club. I can’t find any online references to Diff’rent Spokes, which suggests that it died well before the Internet became a reservoir of ephemera. But gay cyclists end up getting together even in the absence of an existing club and before you know it there’s another club. New York now has Outcyclists and perhaps Fast ‘N Fabulous is still alive although largely moribund after Bob Nelson, the figurative heart of the club, died in 2019.
The Chain Letter 