Tram Day 2026

On June 12, 1943, Albert Hoffman’s 22-year-old laboratory assistant, Susi Ramstein, swallowed 100 micrograms of LSD-25 at her desk in Basel, becoming not only the first woman to take acid, but the first woman to take acid at work.

With this action, Susi became part of the long-honored tradition of self-experimentation, but it wasn’t Susi’s first encounter with the substance - she’s been an unsung figure in Bicycle Day itself. Susi was on her own bicycle right next to Hofmann on April 19, 1943, pedaling hard to keep up with him. Through the afternoon, she coached him through the visual distortions, summoned the doctor when the family physician wasn't available, fetched milk from the neighbor (the one Hofmann perceived as a malevolent witch), and quite literally sat with him until his wife came home. On that day Susi effectively became the world's first LSD guide, though as Maria Mangini notes, "ground control" or "facilitator" might be a better frame than "guide."

Back in the lab on June 12th, once the peak had passed, Susi opted not for a bicycle, but instead boarded the tram home, where she found her fellow passengers in their cloches and corsets deeply comical. Eighty-three years later, we're inviting you to ride along.

Tram Day is our annual celebration of psychedelic women: pioneers, sitters, scientists, dreamers, the unsung and the newly uncovered. Two years ago, we inaugurated the holiday. This year we settle into it, deepen the lineage, and keep the synchronistic winks coming.

Expect a slow and scenic route through cosmic terrain. Stories. Postcards. Poetry. Music. The kind of afternoon where you might lose track of time …

Bring an open afternoon and a curious heart. All passengers are welcome, we’ll see you on the tram.

The Women’s Visionary Council is an educational 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that preserves and transmits the lived knowledge of women and elders in the psychedelic field -- ensuring contributions to mental health, community practice, and cultural history are ethically stewarded for future generations.

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