Motorcyclists in the neighborhood
This past weekend proved to be a pretty busy one with loads of special events all over the City of Indianapolis, starting off with an annual Italian Street Festival Friday and Saturday evening.
The Italian Heritage Society of Indiana and the Holy Rosary Catholic Church celebrate everything Italian each year with a street festival on the near-south side of Indianapolis. What better place for the new Indy DESMO Owner’s Club to gather to show off some of the fine two-wheeled machinery from Bologna, Italy?
Friday evening saw almost two dozen iDESMO members arrive with a large variety of Ducati motorcycles to tingle the senses of 
thousands of visitors to the festival. My favorite senses were totally overwhelmed with the vast variety of Italian treats like manicotti, lasagna, Italian sausages, raviolis, biscotti, cannoli, tiramisu, tortoni, zeppole and zabaglione, to name just a few! Wow, sensory overload!
After two evenings of Italian culinary indulgences, Sunday dawned a bit overcast for a very special event out on West 16th Street. Back in April, I wrote 
about the Ride for Kids® program to benefit the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (PBTF). Several of us from the iDESMO group met up out the Brickyard Sunday morning to participate in the Indianapolis Ride for Kids® hosted by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Through the generosity of several hundred motorcycle enthusiasts, dealers and clubs, a very generous check was presented to Mark Muhlenfeld representing the PBTF along with four very special children; Hannah, Blake, Juliana and Connor, who each shared their survival stories with us. I’d like to recognize Bill Carr from Ducati Indianapolis and the members of the Indy DESMO Owners Club who came together, making the fourth-largest group donation for this event.
It’s events like this where people from all walks of life can come together as a group to make a significant difference in the lives of o
thers through our combined generosity.
With a great weekend of community events behind me, Monday morning offered another motorcycling opportunity with the 18th Annual International Motorcycle & Scooter Ride to Work Day. Our friends over at Red Bull opened up their downtown warehouse early Monday morning welcoming commuters on their two-wheeled vehicles with a little morning jolt of Red Bull.
To wrap up this celebration of two-wheeled transportation, a group of motorcycle enthusiasts, including a contingent from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, descended on the Indy 500 Grill at the new Col. H. Weir Cook Terminal at the Indianapolis International Airport for lunch. Talk about some nervous airport security folks seeing a herd of 20 motorcyclists with helmets, jackets and riding suits walking through the terminal. That was definitely an experience for them to remember!
I’ll see you all next week at www.redbullindianapolisgp.com
Greg
Can’t believe I found another one!
If you remember from my entry a couple weeks ago, the weather here in central Indiana has gotten full swing into the winter mode. Temperatures are consistently below 40 degrees F, and the snow is flying pretty good just north of Indianapolis. Also, I don’t have any of that slick, heated cold-weather riding gear a lot of my riding buddies are using now. I know: I’m a lightweight. In fact, it’s so cold outside; I’ve moved all the motorcycles into the family room of my house so they don’t have to suffer through the cold in the garage.
Well, I had a chance to spend a long weekend in San Francisco as a “tourist,” which is very different than my normal business travel mode. In fact, I’m writing the Experience to you all from a lovely old Victorian house in the Noe Valley area of San Francisco.
This spur-of-the-moment trip gave me the opportunity to experience the grand-spanking-new Weir Cook International Terminal at the Indianapolis International Airport that just opened for business a week ago. A direct and simple arrival to the new terminal from the new exit #68 off I-70 was followed by an effortless check-in at the Delta ticket counter in a beautifully designed terminal building.
The next test of this new facility is typically one of the most stressful experiences in today’s world of airline travel – the TSA security screening area. Well, the folks out at the Indianapolis International Airport did a grand job of designing a generously sized area to accommodate a smooth and expeditious trip through the security area and deliver you into a gate concourse full of surprises.
While I was getting ready to go through the X-ray equipment, a young lady behind me commented on the bright red Ducati Corse sweatshirt I was wearing. Wow, there are Ducati fans everywhere you go!
Now I’m past security and walking into the B concourse toward my departure gate and what do I see? I find myself standing right in front of a South Bend Chocolate Company store with the siren lure of chocolate delights whiffing out into the concourse. Not only am I a lightweight, I also have no willpower when it comes to chocolate, so I am obliged to check out this new establishment that is a kin to one of our favorite places to stop in downtown Indianapolis for treats.
Guess who I see behind the counter at the Chocolate Café but none other than the young lady who complimented me on my bright red Ducati Corse sweatshirt at the TSA security screening area. Liz proceeded to make me the most decadent cup of white chocolate hot chocolate I have ever experienced. Wow, what a delightful experience chatting with Liz and indulging in a steaming hot cup of chocolate ecstasy!
So all you fans who plan to visit Indianapolis next year and attend the 2009 Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Aug. 30, 2009, be sure to stop by the Chocolate Café if you are arriving at the new Weir Cook Terminal at the Indianapolis International Airport.
Anyway, I need to sign off for now, but I’ll see you all in a couple weeks at www.redbullindianapolisgp.com.
Greg