A weekend of fast pursuits
Wow. The weather gods blessed central Indiana with a spectacular string of perfect days this past Memorial Day weekend. Of course, all the local weather forecasters were patting themselves on the back for their forecasting prowess.
Friday, May 22, saw record crowds out at The Brickyard on W. 16th Street in Speedway for the Indianapolis 500 Miller Lite Carb Day. Now there’s an interesting bit of memorabilia in today’s world of automotive technology. Indy cars haven’t had carburetors for decades now. Even all my motorcycles are carb-less with advanced electronic fuel injection systems, as are most all the vehicles we drive today. Some things should never change for nostalgia’s sake!
Another major event occurred across North America Friday evening with the national premier of the new Ducati Streetfighter sport bike. Our friends up at Ducati Indianapolis in Zionsville, Ind., hosted an unveiling party at the dealership complete with lots of Italian food and beverages. Oh, did I mention gastronomic delights again? Remember, that’s always an important part of many of my experiences!
Friday evening was also a memorable experience for me. I took delivery of a new Italian stable mate for my other two Italian stallions. To commemorate their third World Superbike championship with Troy Bayliss last year, Ducati released a commemorative edition of their 1098 R model early this year: 1098 R Bayliss LE. OK, I’m weak, no willpower, no restraint and no level of conservatism when it comes to exotic two-wheeled toys. Yes, I bought one and picked it up this past Friday evening during the Ducati Streetfighter premier party. Number 217 of 500 is now residing comfortably in my garage!
Saturday dawned clear and bright with a forecast any weatherman would be proud to proclaim. With lots of fan activities around town surrounding the Indianapolis 500 out at the Brickyard, our friends up at Ducati Indianapolis continued their event-filled weekend with a demo day. Friday evening saw the unveiling of the new Ducati Streetfighter, and Saturday was the opportunity to test-ride one, along with an assortment of other Ducati models. My duties for the day consisted of leading or trailing groups of test rides and attempting to keep these swarms of Ducatista aboard demo bikes within the “rules of the road.” This was kind of like herding cats!
To wrap up the perfect weekend of Ducati experiences, Ducati Indianapolis and Commonwealth Motorcycles in Louisville, Ky., hosted a track day at Putnam Park Road Course in Mount Meridian, Ind. While 33 drivers were experiencing the 2009 Indianapolis 500 at the Brickyard, a larger group of sport motorcycle enthusiasts were fulfilling their own pursuits for speed on Putnam Park’s 10-turn, 1.766-mile (2.843 km) road course.
I spent Sunday morning exploring various twisty back roads on my new Italian steed, eventually finding my way out to Mount Meridian in western Indiana to hang out with the folks at the Ducati track day. Riding up to the Ducati Indianapolis pit area, I was greeted with several of the guys approaching me with rolls of tape to prep my new 1098 R Bayliss LE for a little track action. No, I held my ground and averted the temptations to break in my new toy on a racetrack. See, I do have a little bit of self-restraint!
My congratulations go out to Helio Castroneves for his spectacular month of May, culminating with his third victory at the Brickyard, becoming only the ninth driver in “500″ history to win the race three times. Everyone who participated in Sunday’s track day at Putnam Park Road Course also fulfilled their own pursuit for speed in a safe and controlled environment.
Oh, did you happen to catch a glimpse of an old, gray-haired guy in Al Unser’s pit stop or a flash of a bright orange Nicky Hayden Repsol replica motorcycle on that famous 2.5-mile oval on W. 16th Street at the start of ABC’s broadcast of the Indianapolis 500? I’ll save that story for a future installment of The Experience.
I hope you all had a memorable Memorial Day weekend, and I’ll see you next week at www.redbullindianapolisgp.com.
Greg
Ray Harroun (Jan. 12, 1879 – Jan. 19, 1968) was an American race car driver, born in Spartansburg, Pa. At the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911, his use of what would now be called a rear-view mirror, rather than the riding mechanic specified in the rules, created controversy but was ultimately allowed. Harroun went on to win at an average speed of 74.602 mph.
Harroun, who came out of retirement to race in the first 500, would not race after 1911. Harroun’s historic Firestone-shod yellow #32 Marmon “Wasp,” in which he won the Indianapolis 500, is on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.
After retiring from racing, Harroun continued engineering work for Marmon, and later for the Maxwell racing team. In 1917, Harroun started his own automobile company, and he continued to work in the automotive industry until his retirement at age 79.
Ok, now what does this Indianapolis Motor Speedway history lesson courtesy of Wikipedia have to do with fashion and design? From our friend Dave Lewandowski at www.indy500.com:
“This past Monday, May 18, the entire starting grid of the Indianapolis 500 visited the Big Apple, New York City, to participate in the opening of a spectacular exhibit. Fronted by the yellow car that started it all - the 1911 Marmon Wasp - and the biggest prize in motorsports - the iconic Borg-Warner Trophy - drivers competing in the May 24 race lined up in the traditional 11 rows of three for a photo op in front of the Macy’s flagship store (where it’s been located since 1902).
The event, which preceded a media gathering at Calvin Klein’s Lookspace in Times Square South and followed multiple national TV appearances by front-row starters Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe and Dario Franchitti, was held in conjunction with IZOD’s exhibit “In Pursuit of FAST: 100 Years of Indy Racing, Fashion and Design” at Macy’s on Broadway through June 3.
The historic exhibit - featuring multiple generations of race cars from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, 500 Mile Race-winning driver helmets, original photographs and memorabilia — dresses the large display windows and lines the (Broadway to Seventh Avenue) aisles. After the outdoor photo session, spectators/shoppers stopped to photograph the Borg-Warner Trophy, which occupied a center-aisle display space reserved during the winter holidays for the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball.”
After their visit to the Big Apple, the cast of 33 drivers will be making all their final preparations this week. Be sure to check out www.indy500.com for a complete schedule of events throughout the week. If your not going to be part of the single largest sporting event in the world Sunday, May 24, be sure to check out all the TV coverage on ABC, VERSUS and ESPN Classic throughout the week.
Keep an eye on the early part of the Race Day telecast on ABC. If you catch a glimpse of a bright orange Repsol race bike flashing by, you’ll also be sharing one of the most memorable experiences from my month of May.
I hope you all have a memorable Memorial Day weekend, and I’ll see you next week at www.redbullindianapolisgp.com
Greg
Recycle your grass clippings
Grass clippings have been banned from landfills by approximately half of the states in the United States. Regardless of bans, however, there are no good reasons to collect and dispose of lawn grass clippings. In the collection system, grass clippings are a costly nuisance. Yet when recycled at home, grass clippings are a resource of valuable plant nutrients and organic matter for your soil. The best way to manage grass clippings is to leave them on the lawn. Grass clippings left to decompose (in place) will improve your turf.
Why recycle grass clippings?
Grass clippings are too valuable to waste! When left on the lawn, properly mowed grass clippings filter down to the soil and decompose rapidly, usually within a few weeks. During the breakdown process, the clippings feed soil organisms, recycle plant nutrients, and contribute organic matter to the soil. As a result, water is conserved and less fertilizer is needed.
Usually the easiest and best way to handle grass clippings is to leave them on the lawn. Sometimes, this is not desirable, such as when the grass is mowed long. Fortunately, there are other good methods to recycling grass clippings at home, including using them as a mulch or soil additive in gardens, or as an ingredient in a compost pile.
Grass clippings can serve as a garden mulch to discourage weeds, retain soil moisture and reduce erosion. The grass eventually decomposes, adding organic matter and plant nutrients to the soil. Place grass mulch around plants in layers of about 1 inch and allow it to dry before you add more clippings. Thicker applications of clippings can become slimy and matted, impeding air and water movement into the soil.
Incorporating grass clippings directly into the soil captures more of the N and organic matter than mulching, though without the benefits of surface mulch. As the grass decomposes, nutrients gradually become available to the garden plants. After collection, work 2 to 3 inches of clippings into the top 6 to 12 inches of soil. Do not use clippings containing a large amount of mature grass or weed seeds. These will eventually sprout weeds in the garden.
Grass is a good ingredient for a backyard compost pile. Grass clippings decompose rapidly and provide both moisture and N, which are often lacking in backyard composting piles. Compost piles begin to heat soon after grass clippings are added. The resulting higher pile temperatures destroy more weed seeds and plant diseases and generally speed the composting process.
Hey, wait a minute! Isn’t this blog supposed to be about motorcycles?
If you remember, last week’s The Experience came to you from my hotel room in Seattle with a comment about hoping my neighbor could cut my yard during my seven-day trip. Well, after copious amounts of fertilizer over the past 15 years and a week of rain in Central Indiana, my good neighbor cut the yard twice during my week long travels, but it still got totally out of control.
This past weekend was a spectacular two days of crisp clear days. After a week of travels, I opted to spend most of Saturday and Sunday on my Ducati 1098S Tricolore rather than deal with a yard of mounded clumps of dead grass. Well, it took over five hours of cutting, bagging and raking to bring my ¾-acre yard back into control, ending with a huge mound of grass clippings on my yard debris pile.
My elderly retired neighbor wandered over yesterday evening eyeing my mountain of grass clippings and proceeded to explain how when mixed with my mountain of leaves from last fall, what a wonderfully rich compost would evolve. He even offered to take some off my hands to enrich his own compost pile. Wow, now I can call my mountain of yard debris a compost heap!
Well, I hope you all learned a little bit about the wonders of Mother Nature and remember to recycle your grass clippings!
I’ll see you all next week at www.redbullindianapolisgp.com
Greg
What is this holiday?
According to Wikipedia, Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for “fifth of May”) is a regional holiday in Mexico, primarily celebrated in the state of Puebla, with some limited recognition in other parts of Mexico. The holiday commemorates the Mexican army’s unlikely defeat of French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín.
While Cinco de Mayo has limited significance nationwide in Mexico, the date is observed in the United States and other locations around the world as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride. However, a common misconception in the United States is that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico’s Independence Day, which actually is Sept. 16, the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico.
There you have it, another Hallmark holiday but most importantly, another reason to celebrate with parties, dancing and gastronomic delights.
Once again, I’m writing to you all this week from a hotel room looking out over the downtown skyline of Seattle. Yup, another business trip and another week away from home. I hope my neighbor was able to cut my grass this past weekend or I’ll be bailing it when I get home later this week.
As many of you may have noticed over the past year, my business travels sometimes affords me the opportunity to enjoy a bit of local activities and delicacies. Given my love of two-wheeled modes of transportation, most of my adventures have been centered around various opportunities to experience a variety of street bikes.
A window of opportunity in my business schedule afforded me the opportunity to reintroduce myself to the world of off-road motorcycles. A good friend and business associate who lives across Puget Sound from Seattle invited me to experience an off-road ride up to the top of one of the local mountain ranges. Green Mountain rises up to about 1,700 feet above sea level and is in the shadow of the Olympic mountain range.
I have not been on a dirt bike for over 12 years and was feeling a bit apprehensive about this adventure. My friend Joe assured me it would be an easy ride. I guess from a “locals” point of view, but not from a flatlander like me who has enjoyed way too many gastronomic delights. Well, the ride ended up being an unbelievable experience with an incredible view from the top of Green Mountain. I think I only bailed off a couple times, and Joe only had to “assist” me up a couple difficult climbs. The boys back in Indy will never believe this!
Like all good experiences, the day ended with yet another culinary experience. Several dozen freshly caught oysters and some local fish Joe caught over the weekend was cooked on a camp fire and served up to everyone’s delight. Not a bad way to celebrate the eve of another Hallmark holiday in the Pacific Northwest.
Happy Cinco de Mayo, and I’ll see you all next week at www.redbullindianapolisgp.com
Greg