Bicycle Day

The First Trip

A Bicycle: photo by Cliff Hutson

On April 19, 1943, Albert Hofmann, a chemist working in, Basel, Switzerland, ingested 250 micrograms--of a compound derived from the ergot fungus. He soon felt so disoriented that he rode his bicycle home, where he experienced effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). This first acid trip is now commemorated as “Bicycle Day”, on this date each year, after that bicycle ride home.

Change Your Mind

Trippy Saddle: photo by Cliff Hutson

LSD and other psychedelics have had a bad rap for many decades and their use has been seriously suppressed for decades. Some of us aging hippies feel that LSD was banned more because of its threat to the established social order than for reasons of physical or mental health. And, in "How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence", by Michael Pollan, the author argues that psychedelic-aided therapy, properly conducted by trained professionals may be personally transformative, helping with everything from overcoming addiction to easing the existential terror of the terminally ill. 

The book is an informative, yet entertaining, mix of science, medicine, and memoir and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the human mind and the exploration of consciousness.

Save the date

Giro della Valle del Conejo

Ride as much or as little, as long or as short as you feel. But ride.” – Eddy Merckx

A day about actual bike riding itself, June 21, 2021, is World Bicycle Day has been designated by the United Nations to spread consciousness about the benefits of using the bicycle in order to promote health, better environment and sustainable development by bringing people together for a common cause.

If you are up to it, celebrate International World Bicycle Day with a ride.