WATCH: The True Stories Behind the AIDS/LifeCycle Passion

The stories of the AIDS/LifeCycle riders are inspiring.

With every conversation I’ve had during the AIDS/LifeCycle ride, I’ve become more humbled and ever more inspired by the passion driving the riders.

I had not initially known much about the ride, and I assumed that the majority of participants were HIV positive and/or gay. However, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

There is an astonishing array of motivations, ranging from the death of a best friend to the accidental infection of a loved one through a blood transfusion. Black, white, Latino; gay, straight, transgender; young, middle-aged and old…the AIDS/LifeCycle community is as diverse as the society it represents.

I spent much of my time covering the ride capturing video stories of the LifeCycle riders. I call the series “We Are AIDS/LifeCycle,” and this is what some of the dedicated riders had to share.