November 6th Ciderbike

Autumn has always been my favorite season. Moving to Portland has only reinforced this view. All around the neighborhood are brilliant yellows, orange and red leaves. Nature seems to be rationing the foliage even after a few good storms. A quick Saturday ride down the street leads me to the Hollywood farmer's market where some of my other fall delights await.. . .mmmm Brussels sprouts. Yet it is not all familiar. I recently was given the opportunity to attend a very unique, cycle-centric fall festival.

A very creative and inventive new friend has devised a cider press using a bicycle as the power source. He has used all FSC certified wood and recycled parts. I'm no expert on Cider Presses, but his design is both elegant and effective ( l i n k ). He has attached the rear skewer of the bike to a stationary bolt that keeps the cycle stable and allows the rear axle to keep moving. After propping up the front, you are off to the races. A large, custom-made concrete fly wheel makes contact with the top of the rear tire and it in turn powers the spike-laden cider masher. The apples are loaded into the funnel shaped box and smashed down with the help of a stick.






Being new to this kind of process, I was pleasantly surprised at how much beer is involved in the making of Apple Cider. . ..its sort of like fuel for the "riders." Simultaneously drinking beer and biking is amazingly simple when you eliminate the whole need to balance and pay attention. I now have a whole new level of respect for water bottle cages and can assure the readers that NO WATER BOTTLES were injured or even USED in this cider party. After adjusting the seat height and opening my beer, I was off and spinning. It feels kind of strange at first, especially when a lot of apples are being pinned by the stick and suddenly offer up some resistance.

Once enough pulp was produced with the pedaling, the apple mash is transferred to the cider barrel with a large, threaded rod that compacts the pulp (pomace) and lets the juice flow. We constantly had jars, pots and pans down to catch the precious liquid. Different apples yielded different tastes and the ideal (I am told) is 1/2 tart (Winesap, Jonathon, MacIntosh) Apples, 1/2 sweet (Delicious, Fuji, Cortland) Apples. Riders were encouraged to wear rain jackets for the occasional and sometimes Vesuvian Cider Press blowout. It can get rather nasty with all that downward pressure. Although science can't explain it, Halloween costumes enhanced the cider's flavor throughout the entire the process.

This kind of inventiveness and creativity serves cycling well, for it intrigues people who would not normally climb onto a bike. Twice that day I heard the same comment from happy participants who said, "I have not been on a bike for at least a year." By simply giving the rider a purpose and making it fun, people take interest and really get into it. It still amazes me how much energy is wasted at the gyms who host spin classes. Why not power the building with it? Or devise a way to charge your phone or iPod while pedaling to work. Those pedal-powered lights have been around for years, why not lead it back to your pannier or bag with a USB cable? The innovative spirit and constant drive forward has served our society very well--and the bicycle is no exception to this.