INDY DESMO road trip

Last weekend, INDY DESMO Owners Club members ventured to the Ropkey Armor Museum in Crawfordsville, Ind., for their first event of the 2009 year. The group included 15 members of INDY DESMO who made the trip and got to see an array of tanks and armory from several time periods and were given a personal tour of the museum by none other than Fred Ropkey himself. The tanks have been featured in movies, historical biographies and numerous cameos on film throughout the world. Mr. Ropkey even had on hand the very rare X-14-B hover plane that NASA astronauts piloted, including Neil Armstrong.

Mr. Ropkey stated that he just loved all the Ducati bikes and was quite thrilled to see them all and had not had the chance to experience the brand for himself. Being an avid rider of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, he was very impressed by the technology and couldn’t resist stating how beautiful the bikes appeared right before his eyes. Thanks go out to all those involved with the ride, and we look forward to many more in the coming months for the club. More information about the Ropkey Armor Museum can be found at www.ropkeyarmormuseum.com

OK, let’s play Where’s Waldo! Can you find me in the photo above?

Nope, I’m not there!

I started off Sunday morning meeting up with a couple MSTA (Motorcycle Sport Touring Association) members at Don & Donna’s for breakfast on the square in Franklin, Ind. The plan was to ride a little bit of the Brown County twisty road routes then head north to meet up with the INDY DESMO group for the Ropkey Armor Museum tour. Well, the “short” Brown County jaunt turned into a 200-mile ride, complete with several stops for lunch and ice cream. Yup, it’s all about the tasty treats. But best of all, the new Ducati in my stable has reached that magic 600-mile point. After my friends at Ducati Indianapolis complete the 600-mile initial service and inspections, I’ll be able to really experience the power of the new 1098 R Bayliss LE.

With another weekend of motorcycle adventures under the belt, it’s time to get back to the grind, and I’ll see you all next week at www.redbullindianapolisgp.com

Greg