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Hey friends,

I am sitting here without much plans for the evening and I realized today is Bicycle Day! Never heard of Bicycle Day, you say?!? Well, my friend, let me tell you a little bit about psychedelic history. 

In 1938 Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann synthesized ) lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD (aka acid, blotter, trip, etc) while he was studying the properties of a rye fungus called ergot. LSD ended up not being very helpful for Hofman's initial research so it was shelved until 1943 when on April 16 Hofman somehow accidentally ingested a small amount of LSD and took the very first acid trip.  Hofman described his experience as follows:

*"... affected by a remarkable restlessness, combined with a slight dizziness. At home I lay down and sank into a not unpleasant intoxicated-like condition, characterized by an extremely stimulated imagination. In a dreamlike state, with eyes closed (I found the daylight to be unpleasantly glaring), I perceived an uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors. After about two hours this condition faded away"*

A couple days later,  on April 19, 1943, Hofmann dosed himself with 0.25 milligrams (250 micrograms) of LSD. Within an hour Hofman was tripping again. He asked his laboratory assistant to escort him home on a bicycle.  After having a pretty intense and apparently terrifying trip, Hofman started to have a more pleasant experience which he described in the following way:

*"... Little by little I could begin to enjoy the unprecedented colors and plays of shapes that persisted behind my closed eyes. Kaleidoscopic, fantastic images surged in on me, alternating, variegated, opening and then closing themselves in circles and spirals, exploding in colored fountains, rearranging and hybridizing themselves in constant flux ..."*

And well, the rest is history. Hofman would go on to continue his research into other psychedelics and LSD would take the world by surprise and contribute to waking up millions and possibly distracting millions (depending on who you ask) before eventually becoming illegal in the late 1960's. 

Since the 1980's different groups of people around the world have rode bicycles and/or taken LSD to honor the discovery and work of Albert Hofman and the spirit of the medicine itself. Today, April 19, 2018, is the 75th anniversary of Hofman's first trip! I have participated many times "back in the day" (2003-2008), but it's been a while. So I am just curious, Steemians, do you participate in Bicycle Day? I think I might tonight.