Ryan and Bradley
Although his bike was stolen from his garage, Ryan Hines is determined to participate in the last California AIDS ride
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
Taffet@DallasVoice.com
Alejandro was more than just a bike. Ryan Hines gained a sense of community riding that bike. He learned LGBTQ community history on that bicycle. And he even credits his engagement to his future husband, Bradley Gilliam, to the bike.
When Alejandro and two other bikes were stolen from his garage, Hines said, more than just a bicycle was taken.
Hines moved to Dallas seven years ago when Toyota moved its North American headquarters to Plano. His first assignment in the new Texas office was overseeing the company’s sponsorship of AIDS LifeCycle, the annual AIDS ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
The 545-mile ride benefits San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center. The event raises awareness about the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and proceeds from the ride fund HIV testing, prevention, care and more.
Participants have raised more than $300 million over the past 30 years.
The California AIDS Ride began in 1994 and spawned a number of other rides around the country, including the four-day Texas AIDS Ride from Houston to Dallas. But those other rides never were as successful as the California ride. The Texas ride became the much shorter two-day Lone Star Ride around North Texas.
The other rides, including Texas, couldn’t compete with the magnificent views along the California coastline.
In 2002, the California ride rebranded itself and streamlined production costs to become AIDS LifeCycle.
After moving to Dallas, Hines jumped into his new role overseeing Toyota’s sponsorship of the California ride. He not only worked with the organization, he registered to do the ride. He purchased a bike, named it Alejandro and began raising money and training for the strenuous seven-day event.
He even created a Toyota team to participate as riders and crew.
“When I met my now-fiancé, Bradley, in spring 2022, I asked him if he’d do this bike ride with me,” Hines said. “He didn’t even particularly like cycling, but he knew how special the ride is to me, and he purchased a new bike and signed up.”
He said they began training with others in the DFW area, participating in other crewed rally rides that provided rest stops. Their longest ride was about 40 miles.
They began fundraising to meet the $3,500 minimum each rider was expected to contribute.
They hosted one successful fundraiser at the Round-Up Saloon, and each reached their goal.
The week before the ride, they took their bikes apart and shipped them to California. They flew to San Francisco and were as ready to ride as they were going to be.
Hines said he was amazed at how well Gilliam did. The second day of the ride was a hilly 109-mile stretch, and he was in awe to see Gilliam, whose longest ride until that point was 40 miles, ride his first “century” — or 100-mile stretch.
That was one of those signs that he had found the right guy, Hines said, and they’re now engaged.
Hines said he sat out the California ride last year. But this year, when he saw that the June 2025 ride would be the last one due to soaring production costs, he knew he had to participate, although Gilliam decided to sit this one out.
So Hines began training and had made it up to 60 miles a ride. Then, a couple of weeks ago, Alejandro was gone. The garage door was left open and the bikes that were hanging on hooks on the wall weren’t there.
Hines called the police. He said they came promptly, took the report and told him bikes are rarely recovered, “but you never know.”
Because of high deductibles, Hines didn’t report the theft to his insurance company.
“The violation of being robbed was a kick to the gut. But even worse, it was a real blow to the heart,” he said.
Before the ride, Hines said, he wasn’t a cyclist. And he didn’t know much about AIDS, either.
During the course of the ride, he met parents and siblings riding for their son or their brother who died of AIDS. He met people living with HIV who were riding to raise money and awareness to help others. And hearing their stories, he learned about the history of his community.
He knew he could find other bike rides for other great causes, but he also knew he’d never find a community like he met on the AIDS ride.
But expenses to stage the ride have gotten out of hand. Shower trucks and kitchen trucks follow along the route. Tents for thousands of riders, crew and staff have to be transported from campsite to campsite.
Rest stops are set up and equipped with snacks, games and other diversions every 15 miles along the 545-mile route. Hines said that, especially since the pandemic, costs have soared.
So the June 2025 ride will be the last one. And Hines said nothing will stop him from seeing the magnificent scenery along the route or the spectacular closing ceremony at the Santa Monica pier.
Apparently lots of others felt the same; Hines said he heard that when they announced it would be the last ride, so many people signed up, they had to close off registrations.
For the final ride, Hines set his fundraising goal at $5,000. Plus, he’s saving for a new bike to replace Alejandro.
He said talking about the AIDS ride community gives him goose bumps, and he is really going to miss “the community, the diversity and how everyone along the ride is looking out for everyone else.”
“There will be lots of emotions when it’s over next summer,” he continued. “We need to find new ways to commemorate the generation lost to AIDS. We need to find new, meaningful ways for the work to continue.”
Note: If anyone has a good road bike they could lend to Hines so he can resume his training sooner rather than later, email Taffet@DallasVoice.com, and we will get you in touch with him.