{"id":10636,"date":"2025-02-19T19:46:25","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T19:46:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/?p=6925445"},"modified":"2025-02-19T19:46:25","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T19:46:25","slug":"psychedelic-denver-bike-ride-party-will-celebrate-first-ever-acid-trip-from-the-1940s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/psychedelic-denver-bike-ride-party-will-celebrate-first-ever-acid-trip-from-the-1940s\/","title":{"rendered":"Psychedelic Denver bike ride, party will celebrate first-ever acid trip from the 1940s"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/psychedelic-denver-bike-ride-party-will-celebrate-first-ever-acid-trip-from-the-1940s\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<div><img src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/psychedelic-denver-bike-ride-party-will-celebrate-first-ever-acid-trip-from-the-1940s.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>On April 19, Denver will host a new cycling event called <a href=\"https:\/\/youaretheportal.com\/bicycleday2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bicycle Day<\/a>, and rest assured this isn\u2019t your average ride.<\/p>\n<p>Bicycle Day is a psychedelic holiday that commemorates the first documented trip on LSD, also known as acid. Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann was the first person to synthesize the compound, and in 1943, he took a now-famous bike ride home after dosing himself. Reports vary on whether he did so <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Albert-Hofmann\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">accidentally<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2024\/04\/19\/1245810413\/bicycle-day-marks-an-unofficial-commemoration-of-the-first-use-of-lsd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">intentionally<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a celebrated point in history among psychedelic enthusiasts and has spawned bike rides in San Francisco and other cities. This year, Denver will join in with a 10-mile daytime ride that starts and ends at Meow Wolf, 1338 1st St. Later that night, the venue will throw a party and concert headlined by Reggie Watts, LP Giobbi (Dead House) and Duncan Russell. A press release promises roving performers and \u201cover-the-top ridiculousness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bicycle Day in Denver is hosted by Portal, a nonprofit that aims to destigmatize psychedelics through cultural events and activism. Fittingly, the ride acts as a fundraiser for several organizations focused on psychedelic advocacy, education and research. Those include the <a href=\"https:\/\/heroicheartsproject.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Heroic Hearts Project,<\/a> the <a href=\"https:\/\/maps.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelics Studies<\/a> (MAPS), and <a href=\"https:\/\/firesideproject.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fireside Project<\/a>, among others.<\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t Portal\u2019s first event in town. The organization has partnered with Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Meow Wolf on previous fundraising efforts, and it regularly hosts trippy events. In 2024, it threw its first late-night Bicycle Day celebration in Denver.<\/p>\n<p>The city is an apt fit for this type of event because psychedelics are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2024\/02\/05\/colorado-psychedelics-decriminalization-law-psilocybin-shrooms-dmt-mescaline-arrest\/\">decriminalized<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/01\/21\/psilocybin-psychedelic-therapy-centers-colorado-natural-medicine\/\">legalized in specific contexts<\/a>, said Brandon Deroche, founder and executive director. He considers Colorado a leader in this space and a cultural psychedelia hub. (Portal will also be throwing events during the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2024\/02\/13\/psychedelic-science-conference-denver-colorado-convention-center-2025\/\">upcoming Psychedelic Science conference<\/a> in June, he said.)<\/p>\n<p>Deroche wanted to add a ride for Bicycle Day 2025 to capture the spirit of the holiday. Portal advocates for safe substance use and while he\u2019s not actively encouraging participants to bike under the influence, Deroche \u201cwould not rule it out\u201d given the impetus for the holiday. He hopes to welcome a wide audience, from veterans to Burning Man attendees.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur whole ethos is around responsible use of psychedelics,\u201d Deroche said. \u201cKnowing that people will likely be under the influence, (sic) our role is making it as safe as possible for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Making the event successful is paramount since Deroche wants this to be the first of many Bicycles Day celebrations to come.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019d like to see this in the next couple years reaching millions of dollars (that) we\u2019re generating for psychedelic nonprofits through this day, which is also just very fun,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related right\"> <\/aside>\n<p>The Mile High ride starts at noon and is expected to travel from Meow Wolf north to Coors Field before looping south back to the immersive art venue. Participants will be expected to bring bikes; however, Deroche hopes to partner with local companies to also offer rentals onsite.<\/p>\n<p>The Bicycle Day party at Meow Wolf runs from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. In addition to music, the event will feature sound journeys, ecstatic dance, meditation, storytelling by Zach Leary (son of Timothy Leary) and more.<\/p>\n<p>To attend, you must be at least 21 years old and a registered Portal member. Memberships cost $111 for a year, and can be purchased onsite or in advance at <a href=\"https:\/\/youaretheportal.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">youaretheportal.com<\/a>. No additional ticket fee will be required.<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.denverpost.com\/dp\/preference\">Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, In The Know, to get entertainment news sent straight to your inbox.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Originally Published: February 19, 2025 at 12:00 PM MST<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>On April 19, Denver will host a new cycling event called Bicycle Day, and rest assured this isn\u2019t your average ride. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[364,8426,52,6811,10757,5809,376,2435,7562,10758,7938,4995,77,9,10759,1495,5019,7440,8147,8148,1,3,7072,6923,61,1736],"tags":[2942,8431,2632,6816,10760,5817,2954,2436,7563,10761,7939,4996,2655,10762,33,5022,7442,8152,8153,7073,6924],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10636"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10636\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}