AUSTIN, MN
Part Grizzly Adams, part teddy bear. That's how Eric Pierson, the man behind Hormel's Bacon Bike and its cross country road trip, introduces himself to the readers of his blog. A long time fan of anything bacon, Eric paired this passion with his love of the open road and a generous sponsorship by Hormel in order to make this Hog to end all Hogs. For Hormel, the trip was a perfect opportunity to promote its new Black Label Bacon. For Pierson it was the greatest breakfast run of his life. Win-win.
All puns aside, it's pretty cool what Hormel and Eric were able to come up with.
“In a previous life, the bacon motorcycle was a diesel motorcycle,” Eric explains on the official trip blog, Driven By Bacon. “Behold, the 2011 Track T-800 CDI. This bad boy gets 100 MPG and is manufactured by EVA Products BV. It has a 800 cc three-cylinder diesel engine and can go 0-60 in 6 seconds. We’ll be tearing it apart and wrapping it in BLACK LABEL® Bacon attitude. It’s not going to look or even smell the same when we’re done with it. Our custom bike builder is already wrenching away.”
The bike is fueled by a biodiesel made from Hormel® BLACK LABEL® Premium Thick Cut Bacon grease. Eric's team partnered with Bio-Blend Fuels in Wisconsin to turn Hormel's breakfast favorite into a biodiesel capable of powering a motorbike half-way across the country.
“We worked with Bio-Blend Fuels in Wisconsin to refine this sweet smelling grease into 100% biodiesel,” he explains. “The fuel is an environmentally safe alternative to conventional diesel fuel. we turned about 275 gallons of bacon grease into 250 gallons of engine pumping b100 bacon bio diesel.”
Not only is the biodiesel powerful, but according to Eric, it is nearly carbon-neutral, making the Bacon Bike as environmentally friendly as it is delicious.
Yahoo Travel reflected back on Eric's travel, starting at the Hormel headquarters in Austin, MN and winding across America till he arrived at the San Diego Bacon Fest on August 30th. To anyone interested in finding more about Eric and his wild adventure, I highly recommend checking out his blog. It's a fun, if hunger inducing, read.
What a wild ride. Congratulations Eric and Hormel on completing such a unique accomplishment.
