Not all Mondays are blue

After all my confessions last week about my fair-weather riding tendencies, central Indiana was finally blessed with a beautiful spring weekend. The mornings were still crisp, but that ideal 50-degree point was quickly surpassed, giving forth to a couple ideal spring riding days.

After such a glorious weekend, Mondays can really be a major drag, especially when the forecast is a continuation of the first bright spring weekend of the season.

Not so on this particular Monday!

April 7, 2008 marked the first major track event of the upcoming Red Bull Indianapolis GP with the first motorcycle laps on the new 2.620-mile, 16-turn road course at the Brickyard. Nicky Hayden, the 2006 MotoGP world champion from Owensboro, Ky., piloted a recently restored bright red 1908 Indian around the new course, complete with vintage racing regalia, at a blistering speed of 45 mph. This amazing piece of racing machinery made its first laps around the original Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Aug. 14, 1909. Check it out here.

Shortly after this first historic lap, Nicky jumped into a telephone booth and emerged 100 years later in modern day motorcycle racing gear, trading the 1908 Indian for a 2008 Honda CBR1000RR roadracing machine sporting special livery for this event. The ensuing laps were a bit quicker on this World Superbike spec machine. Nicky put on a spectacular show for hundreds of enthusiasts who gathered around the south end of the facility by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.

After Nicky’s series of hot laps around the new course, a small group of guests were afforded the opportunity to experience their own lap of the new Brickyard road course. Since red seemed to be the color of the day, my ’06 Ducati 999R Xerox seemed the logical choice for my first lap of the new course. Jarrod, my co-blogger here at redbullindianapolisgp.com, myself and 30 or so other lucky guests took a leisurely lap behind a pair of our city’s finest from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department motorcycle division.

Unfortunately, all good dreams have to come to an end, and now Tuesday feels more like Monday. But oh, what an experience to remember.

See you all next week on redbullindianapolisgp.com

Greg