"SLIPPIN' ON BY ON LSD" - ALLIOTA HAYNES & JEREMIAH, 1971

I've been taking LSD for fifty years but the trip was never as enjoyable as when shared with 25,000 other folks. LSD, of course, refers to Lake Shore Drive, one of the most scenic urban highways in America; and the scene was the annual Bike the Drive fest when LSD is turned over solely to cyclists the Sunday before Memorial Day. At 5:30 AM I steered my trusty 24 speed onto the Drive at Jackson Blvd to an almost hallucinatory view featuring a sea of bicyclists in both directions where only two ton stinkpots usually tred. Never having biked that far in my life, the 30 mile route appeared daunting as I headed south toward Hyde Park where I spent my college and early career years. Circling the Museum of Science and Industry to head back north, this aging pre-baby boomer, born in the waning days of FDR's presidency, was lifted by a biker's high and thousands of fellow cyclists of all ages, sizes and backgrounds, to go the distance. An hour later I hit the northern turnaround at Hollywood for a leisurely jaunt back to the starting line. It was satisfying to realize that we were traveling nearly 750,000 miles without a single carbon emission being expelled to poke holes in our decaying ozone layer.


Afterword, I cured the munchies with breakfast at the post drive festival and communed with my fellow cyclists. Power to the peddlists! Back home in the western suburbs, I'm not the least bit worried about this LSD trip bringing flashbacks. They will be welcome and memorable.