Where are you?

“Old Man Winter, like the elfish creature Jack Frost, is a personification of winter, sometimes also called Father Winter. He may be an alternative older name for Father Christmas and has been identified with the Old English god Woden. In Russian folklore, Old Man Winter is known as Morozko and is also identified with Ded Moroz, the Russian Santa Claus. In English folklore, Jack Frost appears as an elfish creature who personifies crisp, cold, winter weather; a variant of Father Winter (also known as “Old Man Winter”). Some believe this representation originated in Germanic folklore specifically in the Anglo-Saxon and Norse winter customs. Tradition holds Jack Frost responsible for leaving frosty crystal patterns on windows on cold mornings.”

Yikes, yet another Wikipedia lesson on folklore of the holidays and seasons. I bet you never thought you’d be learning so much reading The Experience here at www.redbullindianapolisgp.com

Fortunately for the third weekend in a row, Old Man Winter has kept clear of central Indiana. During our Indian Summer lesson a couple weeks ago, we learned the generally accepted use of the term is when the weather is sunny and clear, and above 70° F. Last weekend turned out to be mostly sunny and clear. But with temperatures only making it into the mid 50°F both days, I don’t think we can call this Indian Summer anymore.

Having been pretty distracted from household autumn duties the past couple weekends, I did manage to focus for part of a day and, like my buddy Mike last weekend, get my yard cleaned up of all my neighbors’ leaves. Yes, you heard me right! I only have one small deciduous tree in my whole yard that drops its leaves in the fall. Unfortunately, all my neighbors around me have very large trees with mountains of leaves that inevitably end up in my yard. You would think they would want to collect all their leaves themselves!

So with my neighbors leaves disposed of, Sunday turned into another full day of wandering the back roads and small towns of Indiana with a group of like-minded motorcycle enthusiasts from the Indy DESMO Ducati owners club. A group of 11 of us made our way down some favorite twisty roads starting off in Monrovia on SR39 through Martinsville then down to Old SR37 passing through Hindustan and Dolan on our way to Bloomington. Taking SR48 west of Bloomington, we shot south on the freshly paved SR43, hitting towns like Hendricksville and Solsberry on our way to SR54. Heading west on SR54, we passed through Ridgeport, Bloomfield, Linton and Dugger on our way to our final destination in Sullivan.

Oh, I forgot to mention we did have a destination in mind for this two-wheeled adventure. The Indy DESMO group shares very similar passions as the Motorcycle Sport Touring Association (MSTA) I’ve blogged about many times here at The Experience. Both groups love to ride, and both groups love to eat. Well, our destination for the day was lunch at Joe’s Italian Foods & Pizzeria in Sullivan, Ind. Oni and Nora Leone have owned and operated Joe’s Pizza in Sullivan since February 2000. Oni is also a fellow Ducatista and is the proud owner of a Ducati Monster. Two other members of Oni’s family operate Joe’s Pizza restaurants in Robinson and Newton, Ill.

I’ve got to report to you that I experienced the best pizza I have ever tasted last Sunday at Joe’s Italian Foods & Pizzeria in Sullivan. I also experienced the same difficulty with my riding gear apparently shrinking as I did last weekend during our gastronomic tour around Indianapolis on two wheels with my riding buddy Mike.

Well, I just saw the weather forecast for the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow, and it appears Old Man Winter is finally going to make an appearance here in central Indiana with some snow, so I’ll wish you all the very best. I’ll see you all here next week at www.redbullindianapolisgp.com

Greg

Another Indian summer weekend

Am I still in Indiana? That was the question I was asking myself last weekend here in the Midwest in the middle of November. After our little lesson about the origins of the term “Indian summer” last week here at www.redbullindianapolisgp.com, I figured it would be snowing by this past weekend. To my surprise, central Indiana was once again blessed with a spectacular two days of fall temperatures and clear blue skies this past weekend. Several more weeks ago I shared with you all “A day in the life of a business traveler” going to Calgary, Alberta, so this week I thought I’d share a day in the life of a motorcycle enthusiast with yet another Indian summer weekend.

7:30 a.m.: Rise and shine. The sun is up, the sky is clear, the thermometer is approaching a favorable level, so it’s time to ride! Darn, all the bikes are back in cozy winter storage, so I’ve got to roll one up from the family room to the garage. It’s still a bit chilly, but I’ve got room for an extra layer under the leathers so I should be fine for a couple hours until it warms up.

8:30 a.m.: I’m suited up and ready to ride. I stopped by my riding mate Mike’s house to see if I can get him out of bed early on a Saturday morning to join the day’s ride. To my surprise, he’s already up and raking leaves in his yard and cleaning out gutters. Yikes, that’s really what I should be doing today!

9 a.m.: My temptations for Mike to join the morning’s ride apparently didn’t work, so I swung by Shapiro’s Delicatessen and met up with the local BMW riders club for breakfast. I’m the lone Ducati in a sea of BMWs, but we all share the same passion of two-wheeled adventures. Shortly after settling in to a piping hot cup of java and a plate full of eggs, bacon and toast, Mike comes zooming into the parking lot on his German steed. I guess those leaves and gutters will have to wait for another day.

11 a.m.: After a breakfast like that, my leathers seemed a bit tighter. But now that I’ve got Mike peeled away from yard work, we head up to Ducati Indianapolis on the far north side of town for a piping hot espresso. Now the table has turned, and Mike’s BMW is surrounded by a sea of Ducatis. After a couple shots of espresso and a pastry or two, it’s time to head off to the monthly meeting of the Motorcycle Sport Touring Association (MSTA).

1 p.m.: Dreyer Motorsports, on the west side of Indianapolis, had graciously offered their MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) training room to host the MSTA meeting this month. Dwayne Dreyer was hanging out in the main showroom welcoming the arriving MSTA members and pointing us in the direction of the meeting room. After solving all the world’s problems, trading a few big fish stories and munching on chips and soft drinks, Mike and I suited back up once again to continue our Indian summer ride.

3 p.m.: With almost six hours since our last full meal, we head off to the far south side of town to grab a late lunch at one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants, Fireside Brewhouse. Hey, wait a minute, didn’t we just have snacks at Dreyer Motorsports and more treats at Ducati Indianapolis earlier in the day? This Indian summer riding is a very strenuous activity that consumes a lot of fuel for both the motorcycles and their riders.

5 p.m.:  With the sun settling low in the November sky and the zipper on my leathers mysteriously getting tighter and tighter, Mike and I head over to another riding buddy’s place on the near south side of Indianapolis. To both our surprise, we find Craig finishing up a full day of yard work and chores around the house with his Italian and German two-wheeled steeds setting idle in the garage. I guess Craig is lucky I didn’t swing by his place earlier in the morning on my way to rescue Mike from the same late Indian summer fate.

7 p.m.: After a full day of eating my way around the City of Indianapolis, I finally roll up the driveway of my house, checking out my yard full of leaves, and wondering if Sunday will be a day of yard work and chores or if the siren song of a two-wheeled Italian steed tempts me to avoid it for yet another week.

Well, I’ve got to confess. Sunday dawned just as Saturday had. The crew from Ducati Indianapolis successfully rescued me from my home duties yet again with a full-day ride down through the twisty roads of southern Indiana. I guess the fall duties will have to wait for another weekend, and maybe I can persuade Mike and Craig to join me for a day of raking leaves!

I’ll see you all here next week at www.redbullindianapolisgp.com

Greg

What is it?

“Indian summer is an informal expression given to a period of sunny, warm weather in autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, typically in late October or early November, after the leaves have turned following an onset of frost but before the first snowfall. The generally accepted use of the term is when the weather is sunny and clear, and above 21°c (70°F), and all of the leaves of the trees have turned but before the first snow has fallen; a period normally associated with mid-October to late-November in the northern states of the U.S.

Traditionally, in former times in Europe, ‘Indian summer’ was called ‘Saint Martin’s Summer,’ referring to St. Martin’s day, Nov. 11, when it was supposed to end. In British English ‘St. Martin’s Summer’ was the most widely used term until the American phrase Indian Summer became better known in the 20th century. In Italy, St. Martin’s summer (Estate di San Martino) was expected and celebrated as a rural tradition with ancient origins, and is marked by a festival throughout the peninsula on November 11. In Spain, it is called ‘Veranillo de San Miguel’ or ‘Veranillo de San Martín,’ depending on which date it occurs. It can also be called ‘Veranillo del Membrillo’ (little summer of the quince).

In Russia, it is called ‘Women’s Summer/Babye Leto (Бабье лето),’ in Poland – ‘Babie Lato’ and in Croatia ‘Bablje ljeto.’ In Galicia (northern Spain), it is called ‘Veraniño de San Martiño,’ and in Portugal it is called ‘Verão de São Martinho,’ both of which refer to St. Martin’s summer.

In Bulgaria, the phenomenon is sometimes called ‘Gypsy Summer’ (Bulgarian: циганско лято, tsigansko lyato) and in some places ‘Gypsy Christmas’ and refers to unseasonably warm weather in late fall or a warm spell in between cold periods.

In Sweden it is called ‘brittsommar,’ which is derived from Birgitta and Britta, who have their “name day” in the Swedish calendar on Oct. 7. That is when Britt Mass, an official fall open-air market, was held.

In Germany and Austria it is called “Altweibersommer”, in Hungary “vénasszonyok nyara” (Old Ladies Summer or Crone’s Summer) because the many white spider silks seen at this time of the year have been associated with the norns of Norse folklore or medieval witches.

An alternative to St Martin’s summer was ‘Saint Luke’s summer,’ as the saint’s feast day is Oct. 18. Another alternative was “All-hallown summer,” as Halloween is Oct. 31; the expression is used in Shakespeare’s King Henry IV, Part 1, Act 1 Scene 2.”

Hey, stop it, Wikipedia overload is setting in. OK we all now know that Indian Summer comes after Halloween, and every country has their own version of this time of year! Back here in good ole central Indiana, we had one spectacular Indian Summer weekend. I even had to bring one of my favorite two-wheeled toys out of a comfy winter storage to click off some miles on some of my favorite twisty roads in southern Indiana with a couple riding buddies.

Three other Yankees, two from Texas and our own “Kentucky Kid,” had a spectacular “Veraniño de San Martiño” ride last weekend at the Grand Prix of Valencia in Spain. American riders claimed three of the top seven finishing positions. Colin Edwards placed fourth on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine, while 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden finished fifth on the Ducati Team bike. 2009 Superbike World Champion Ben Spies finished a strong seventh in a wild-card ride for the Sterilgarda Yamaha Team. Check out www.redbullindianapolisgp.com for more race details.

Hopefully this bit of Indian Summer lasts a few more days before Old Man Winter rears his ugly head. I’ve asked my friends up in Calgary, Alberta, if they could keep their “Alberta Clippers” up in their neck of the woods this year.

I’ll see you all here next week at www.redbullindianapolisgp.com

Greg