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
Do you wanna be in the movies?
Welcome back to week two of “The Experience.” Last week I mentioned how I became involved with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the upcoming Red Bull Indianapolis GP.
Actually, this goes back to a very special day in November 2006 at the MotoGP finale at The Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana in Valencia, Spain. The 2006 MotoGP championship had come done to this final event. After having lost his lead in points with a series of mishaps late in the season, Nicky Hayden had to finish well ahead of Yamaha’s multi-time champion, Valentino Rossi, to secure his first world championship. The day ended up being his, and Nicky Hayden left Spain that weekend with the 2006 MotoGP world championship in his possession!
Three weeks later, Honda contacted each of their North American dealers, announcing the release of a 2007 CBR1000RR Repsol replica motorcycle in celebration of “The Kentucky Kid’s” world championship. My good friends at Dreyer Honda South accepted their allocation of one unit and immediately gave me a call with the news. Wow, what was I to do? I had to have it as it represented the pinnacle of the dreams of a young, 10-year-old racer I held up in the pits at Indianapolis Raceway Park over a decade ago.
Let’s flash forward to the spring of 2007. After a long, cold Indiana winter, the Repsol replica showed up just as the weather was starting to break. In the meantime, I had acquired a set of replica Repsol race leathers as well as Nicky’s Arai replica helmet from his 2005 victory at the Laguna Seca MotoGP in Monterey, Calif. Are you starting to get the picture? I am a serious Nicky Hayden fan!
Well, anyway, the rumor mill had been brewing pretty long about a possible event coming to Indianapolis when I got a voice mail from somebody at IMS. Again, I’ve got to thank my great friends at Dreyer Motorsports for passing on to the IMS staff member their knowledge of a serious Nicky Hayden fan on the south side with just the motorcycle they were seeking for their media program for an event yet to be confirmed.
Lights, camera, ACTION!
My day on the stage finally came the first of July. It turned out to be a beautiful, sunny summer day with the temps in the low 90’s! Not bad if you’re on a beach, but how about on the front straight of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in full race leathers with most of the five hours “posing” for the cameras! Indy 500 veteran Stephan Gregoire, the old guy in the video, was clad in 1910 vintage leathers on a very cantankerous old machine for an equally long period of time.
Well, the final product of my experience that day is the Red Bull Indianapolis GP Event Introduction video that opened the official media event on July 16, 2007. Since then, many others have experienced this little piece of my experience as we continue our countdown to Sept. 14, 2008.
See you all next week on redbullindianapolisgp.com.
Greg