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
A little bit of Italy comes to Owensboro.
As the seasons change here in central Indiana, the seasonal changes are occurring in the world of MotoGP starting with the first tests of next season’s teams yesterday at the Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain.
Back on September 15th we all learned here at http://www.redbullindianapolisgp.com about our 
local MotoGP hero, Nicky Hayden, making a move to Ducati for the 2009 season. This photo of Nicky and Ducati’s, Casey Stoner from the 2007 MotoGP season turns out to be a very prophetic view. The 2009 MotoGP season will see the Australian and American, both world champions, aboard the iconic Italian red machines as teammates.
Nicky Hayden bid a fond farewell to his Honda team of seven years after Sunday’s final MotoGP event of the 2008 season in Valencia. He was greeted Monday morning in the Ducati MarboroTeam garages, ready for his first experience aboard the Ducati GP8 and GP9 motorcycles. Nicky’s first ride is chronicled here at http://www.redbullindianapolisgp.com. His move to the Ducati Marboro Team was commemorated with a small decal on the bike that simply stated “Chapter 2.”
Well you should all remember from my earlier blogs what a Nicky Hayden fan I have been for many years. You may also recall I have a couple very special Ducati sport bikes that seem to accumulate the most miles during the riding season. Are you starting to get the picture of a match made in heaven? Nicky Hayden on a Ducati represents what could be a spectacular alignment of stars.
I hope all the good folks in Owensboro, Ky., are ready for a bit of Italian flare to come to town. A Kentucky tradition since 1963, the Moonlite Bar-B-Q in Owensboro, voted the “Best Barbecue in Kentucky” by Kentucky Monthly and Kentucky Living readers, may need to add Italian sausages to the barbecue pit.
I’m sure the other fine Kentucky tradition in town, Earl’s Racing Team, will be adding some Ducati memorabilia to the family collection.
I know I’m anxious to start “Chapter 2” of my collection of Nicky Hayden memorabilia.
I’ll see you all in a couple weeks at www.redbullindianapolisgp.com.
Greg