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
Motorcyclists can make a difference!
The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (PBTF) is a non-profit charitable organization that seeks to:
•Find the cause of and cure for childhood brain tumors by supporting medical research
•Increase public awareness about the severity and prevalence of childhood brain tumors
•Aid in the early detection and treatment of childhood brain tumors
•Support a national database on all primary brain tumors
•Provide educational and emotional support for children and families affected by this life-threatening disease
The Ride for Kids® is a motorcyclist’s program that is helping find the cause and cure of pediatric brain tumors. It also serves as an educational support program for patients, their families and the medical community.
Mike and Dianne Traynor started the Ride for Kids® program in 1984 in Atlanta when a friend’s child was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After watching the tragic deaths of many children, they set out to help find the cause and cure of this childhood killer by soliciting help from their friends in the motorcycling community.
With the support of America’s motorcyclists, the program began to raise awareness and funds to pay for research in the nation’s leading brain tumor research centers. The success of the first Ride for Kids® event in Atlanta led to the program’s expansion to Chicago in 1989. Mike and Dianne soon decided to devote full-time attention to their advocacy and fundraising efforts, and started the PBTF in 1991.
The PBTF is honored to be the official charity of the Honda Rider’s Club of America (HRCA), which has been the presenting sponsor of Ride for Kids® since 1991. Thanks to the significant support of American Honda Motor Company’s motorcycle division, Honda dealers and other motorcycle industry companies, the program has raised more than $40 million for pediatric brain tumor research.
This support has helped make PBTF the largest non-profit source of funding for pediatric brain tumor research outside of the U.S. government. In addition to research grants to medical laboratories, PBTF funds started the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the U.S., a national database of disease and patient information.
Thanks to the efforts of Ride for Kids®, progress is being made in the search for the answer to this terrible affliction. Each year laboratories worldwide take steps toward new and more innovative treatments for young patients. However, until the cause is isolated, the prognosis of these children will continue to cast doubt on their recovery, and for those who survive, their resulting quality of life.
On Sunday, June 14, 2009, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will host the Indianapolis Ride for Kids®. When you join hundreds of other motorcyclists for this scenic ride, you’ll have a great time while raising funds for the PBTF’s medical research and family support programs! Riders on all makes and models of motorcycles are welcome to participate.
Registration opens at 8 a.m. and closes at 9:45 a.m. The escorted ride starts at 10 a.m. sharp, rain or shine!
The ride will loop back to the Speedway. After a light lunch, participants will enjoy a Celebration of Life program that features interviews with young brain tumor survivors – the Ride for Kids® “stars” of the day. Award presentations to top fundraisers will follow.
The minimum donation to ride is $35, but the more money you raise, the more premiums you earn. For each $300 you raise, your name will be entered into a drawing for a brand-new Honda motorcycle! For more information, call 800-253-6530 or visit the Ride for Kids® Web site.
This past Saturday, Dreyer Honda South hosted a bake sale to raise funds for the PBTF. During the course of the day, a delectable assortment of cakes, cookies, pies, cheesecakes and other treats were available for purchase with all the proceeds benefiting the PBTF. Throughout the day, local organizer Steve Kirkendoll shared details for the June 14, 2009 Indianapolis Ride for Kids® event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Keep your eyes peeled for more local fundraising events between now and June 14 here at www.redbullindianapolisgp.com and be sure to put this on your ride calendar.
Greg