Social networking on two wheels…
Each of us has different passions that we like to share with others. In today’s world of instant global communication over the information superhighway, face-to-face social networking seems to be evolving away. With Internet social networks like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube, to name a few, keeping us glued to computer monitors, many of the old skills like writing letters, sending cards or meeting face-to-face seems to be evolving away from today’s society.
Not so in the motorcycle community!
You may have noticed over the past year and a half I’ve penned The Experience here at www.redbullindianapolisgp.com, many of the experiences I’ve shared with you focus around a variety of social networks that generally involves a gathering of motorcycle enthusiasts.
The weekly “meeting” of the Motorcycle Sport Touring Association (MSTA) group on Tuesday evenings for dinner is a chance for like-minded motorcycle enthusiasts to share their experiences. Likewise, the new iDESMO club is a social network of motorcycle enthusiasts who have formed a bond of camaraderie around a common passion for Ducati motorcycles.
These gatherings take on all sorts of forms. I recently discovered a weekly bike night at Cheese Burger in Paradise on the south side of Indianapolis. A couple of us cruised down there last Tuesday after our MSTA “meeting” to check it out. Wow, what an awesome event! There was a wide variety of motorcycles from cruisers to sport bikes to exotic customs to touring bikes. I rolled in on my ’06 Ducati 999R Xerox, and a young enthusiast instantly sought me out in his excitement of seeing what he proudly stated to be the best example of a Ducati superbike ever produced!
The occasional cruise to downtown Indianapolis’ Monument Circle for a tasty treat at the South Bend Chocolate Company, hanging out with the Shell’s Angels or the weekly Saturday gathering at The Suds in Greenwood, Ind., are all alternative forms of social networking. Each of these venues offers the opportunity to share experiences face-to-face.
What may soon become the “grand daddy” of motorcycle gatherings in Indianapolis is just around the corner. The second running of the Red Bull Indianapolis GP will take place at The Brickyard out on West 16th Street on August 28, 29 & 30, 2009. Three days of race activities will 
encompass events not only at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway but also dirt track racing at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, speedway racing at the Marion County Fairgrounds, motorcycle stunt shows downtown and probably the biggest Bike Night of the year Friday and Saturday evenings stretching from Monument Circle down to Union Station on South Meridian Street.
So if you want to experience the biggest motorcycling event at the grandest racing venue in the world, be sure to make your plans to join us here in Indianapolis at the end of August and keep internetworking by your favorite social network for more details.
I’ll see you all next week at www.redbullindianapolisgp.com
Greg
Next week is going to be historic!
By this time next week, the first event of the inaugural 2008 Red Bull Indianapolis GP will be kicking off an epic week of activities. The Kick Start Celebration will take 
place at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9 on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis. If you are at all able to sneak out of the office for a long lunch, what better way to start off a week of MotoGP experiences than this two hour kickoff event.
Rumors have it a parade of motorcycles will be escorted onto Monument Circle to start off the week-long celebration of two-wheeled racing events. Be sure to check out the schedule of events and the newly posted Guest Guide at www.redbullindianapolisgp.com. The folks out on West 16th Street have also posted a very useful Event Planner to help you out-of-towners locate all the local motorcycle shops, eateries, lodging, off-track events and lots more.
The activities over at the track have definitely picked up this week. New grandstands are going up around the new GP course, tents are being erected, trailers of equipment are coming in, and crews of support people are getting geared up to put on what will undoubtedly be the two-wheeled equivalent of “The Greatest Spectacle In Racing.”
While checking out the Event Planner, I also noticed there are a bunch of neat events on the schedule. The Red Bull TNT Freestyle Motocross will be taking over 62nd Street in Broad Ripple Thursday evening and the XDL Sportbike Freestyle Championship at Indy will be downtown on North Street Friday evening with practice Thursday.
The AMA Flat Track bikes are coming back to the Indiana State Fairgrounds Saturday evening, Sept. 13 with the Lucas Oil Indy Mile AMA Flat Track Grand National. A couple teams were at the fairgrounds the end of July testing, and the sound of those big twins ripping around the mile-long dirt track was a spine-tingling experience. See the video below.
For all of you riding into town next week, be sure to check out Motorcycles on Meridian Friday and Saturday nights starting around 7 p.m. The city is shutting down Meridian Street each night from Maryland Street down to South Street for motorcycle traffic and parking only, providing a perfect opportunity for riders and fans to check out the exciting restaurants and downtown nightlife.
After more than a year of anticipation that started off with the Red Bull Indianapolis GP event introduction back on July 16, 2007, the count down is just a week to go. Be sure to check out all the events on the schedule and make you plans to experience the biggest two-wheeled celebration to hit the city of Indianapolis in almost 100 years.
If you haven’t got your tickets yet, go to www.redbullindianapolisgp.com for purchase information, and I’ll see you all next week in Indianapolis.
Greg