The bicycle, bike or cycle is a human-powered vehicle that is driven by foot pedals. It has a basic frame with two wheels attached to it, one after the other. Almost 1.4 billion people in the world use this vehicle, and is obviously one of the most popular and cost-effective vehicles in use today. Not only is it an important and popular means of transport, but also an effective recreational tool. It has several uses such as police and military applications, courier services and cycling sports as well as adult fitness equipment.
Introduced in the 19th century in Europe, bicycle has a host of innovators and inventors credited to its name. The bicycle is supposed to originate from the human-powered vehicle called Draisines. This was introduced to the people in Paris in 1818 by German Baron Karl von Drais. Kirkpatrick MacMillan made an upgrade to this vehicle by adding a mechanical crank drive that as used to drive the vehicle. Thus, the modern `bicycle` came into being.
The French inventors Pierre Michaux and Pierre Lallement designed a high-seated and big front-wheeled bicycle (ordinary bicycle, as it was formally called) that wasn`t much preferred as of its bad weight distribution. The dwarf ordinary bicycle mended these faults but the front oversized wheel remained a problem to be solved. J.K. Starley`s 1885 Rover was the first modern bicycle in its true sense with even wheels and a proper seat.
The modern bicycle has many parts. They may be jotted down as follows.
Frame - Every bicycle today has a `diamond` frame, where the front triangle consists of the head tube, top tube, down tube and seat tube. The rear triangle consists of the seat tube and chain stays as well as seat stays. The basic of bicycle frames is to have high strength yet low weight so as to optimize the energy of the rider to the fullest. Women`s bicycles generally have a step-through frame. This defines that the top tube is absent as it allows the rider (usually a woman) to mount and dismount in a dignified way while wearing a skirt or dress.
Drivetrain - The pedals which rotate the arms of the mechanical crank and chain rings and the brackets, all are elements of the drivetrain. They are used for gears and other related functions in the bicycle.
Handlebars - The handlebars are one of the most important parts of a bicycle. Upright handlebars are used in normal bicycles while dropped handlebars are used in racing and mountaineering bicycles. The latter are used because they give aerodynamic steering and speed to the biker.
Saddles - The saddles are varying depending on the journey and preference of the rider. Cushioned ones are usually used for short journeys while narrower ones are meant to give more space for leg swings.
Brakes - Modern bicycle brakes are usually rim brakes that use friction pads to de-intensify speed. There are also internal hub brakes that have friction pads within the hubs that halt a speeding bicycle. Disc brakes are used on mountain, racing etc bicycles that need braking to be immediate and accurate.
Suspension - A bicycle has suspension to guard itself from the hard roads and also provide comfort to the rider who has to face the rough road.
Wheels - Wheels are necessary for a bicycle to run and reach its destination. Sizes, shapes and powerful wheels vary as per the rider`s needs and choice.
Cities such as Lyon, Barcelona and Paris have used bicycling schemes to good effect. The journey of the bicycle with the human race has been long and important, and will continue to lengthen as long as the human race still exists!
The history of grappa is lost in the mist of time, the official legend would make it go back up to a roman legionary of the I century BC, who, gone back home after stealing in Egypt a plant for the distillation of grape pomace, had applied the techniques learned to the marc of the vineyard of which he was assignee in Friuli.
But the distillation process probably has started between VIII and VI century BC in Mesopotamia, while the first evidences of a distillation applied to local vines, to obtain brandy or spirit, date back not before the XII century by the alchemists. The techniques to distil real grappa have been codified by the Schola Salernitana around the year one thousand.
The marcs are the skins of grapes, once they are separated from the must or the wine. In this moment, less than one third of marc is used to produce grappa, from the remaining part derives ethanol. This fact has a huge influence on the final quality of brandy, because just the best marc, the ones considered more appropriate after a strict selection, can really make grappa.
The quality of grappa depends as first thing from the quality of marc used, and as second from the ability of the master distiller. This is an underrated figure until now, given that he is the firs builder of a high quality grappa. And in fact, according to the current regulations for selling liquors, on the label it is possible to quote both the master distiller and the distillation alembic used, a combination considered crucial for the characterization of the grappa created.
The alembics in fact fall into two main categories, continuous and discontinuous. The first ones work, as their name suggests, in continuation. Fed with marc, they return a fusel alcohol which is elevated to the rank of spirits through a second distillation. The second type, instead, works on various successive cooking, they load in the boiler (or cucurbit) the material to be distilled, the material is heated, the next step is the exhaustion of alcohol and aromatic substances contained, paying great attention in drawing only the ?heart?, and in the end the boiler is unloaded. The best distillation occurs slowly, gently, using only old traditional alembics, where the steam passes through the spongy mass of pomace to extract the least volatile part and transmit to the steam its own aromatic substances.
The result of the distillation is aged in wood barrels that give to the grappa, through the transfer of tannins, its aromatic quality. Aging itself is not essential if you want to obtain a distillate of youthful boldness and aggressiveness, of course if you choose the path of a most noble and complex distillate, the organoleptic characteristics obtained depend on the type of wood, the time the brandy spends inside the barrels and on the climatic condition in which it stays.
Grappa has a long history on its back, especially in northern Italy and in Veneto, where this type of spirit is now a symbol of the territory, with over 40% of national production of grappa. Years of distillation, still using the traditional methods, make the quality of this fine spirit always very high and here in Veneto are also located the Italy's most famous and ancient grappa companies and distilleries.
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