Good news about May … fast cars!
I have been riding just about every day out to the track. It’s awsome. If you have a Indy Racing League-issued hard card, you are able to ride right into the garage area. Be advised that you its crucial to kill the motor before you enter so that you can coast your way to the lineup. If not, you will be stopped, and you will have to de-saddle and walk your bike down the lineup.
I prefer to buzz in, kill it and roll to my spot instead of painfully walking down the garage area and pushing my bike. There just isn’t anything manly about that.
I know that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I was going to have video clips to show from my new camera, but to be honest, I haven’t had any time to put them to tape. Unless you want my ride into and home from work.
Well, I hate to make these short, but time is short this month. I did attach a photo of what my point of view is most of the day during May.
Ride safe.
Jarrod
Last week, I purchased a VholdR motorcycle camera and took Megan for a ride down to Nashville, Ind.
… and Van is crawling like a mad man!
I don’t have samples with the new camera ready to share because it has been a busy week, but I have been testing it out and riding daily, so be prepared for video all summer long. If you watched the lap around the track with the highly expensive camera, you should note that the quality on the VholdR is much better and has sound. The sound isn’t that great, but it is sound, no less.
Last Sunday, Megan decided that she was ready to take a trip on the bike. But the forecast lied to us! It was more like 45 and cloudy than 65 and partly sunny.
Regardless, Megan had made up her mind, and we went for ride toward Brown County. The ride wasn’t too bad, but I was beginning to get a neck pain because she was clutching her body against mine like a scared monkey, not to mention the constant head-butting from her helmet every time I shifted gears.
So as we rode down to Brown County, it seemed to get colder and colder and the roads began to get curvier and curvier. I noticed that when I go too fast around turns, Megan likes to punch me in the stomach. Her sisters tell me that when Megan was a little girl, she would run up to her sisters, punch them in the stomach and take their toys. It’s good to see that Megan hasn’t grown up too much.
When we arrived in Nashville, it was about the perfect time to take a break. I decided that Megan was going to need chaps, and I was going to need coffee and food.
We both got chaps, and I have to admit I prefer them over my leather Alpinestars pants, for sure. The leather chaps are much more comfortable, and they really don’t look that bad. So after we picked up the chaps at the leather shop in Nashville, we headed over to the “Ordinary” for lunch. Sprinkles cut our ride short, and we were back on the road to Megan’s parents, where Van was.
It was a good time, and Megan is all about taking day rides. Hopefully when the Indy 500 finishes up, we will get a Monday here and there to go riding.
Jarrod
Last week you saw that I got to take a few solo laps around the track. Besides Nicky, I am the only one that has put solo laps in on the new track, well at least above 30 mph.After chatting with the “PR GOD” who reminds me to write this blog each week, he had mentioned that I need to elaborate a bit more about the experience. After all, I am one of two people that have been on the racetrack on a motorbike by myself. Technically, that puts me in the same category as Nicky Hayden!
So here it is, a turn-by-turn, straight-by-straight analysis by a motorcycle rider that is by no means a motorcycle racing expert.
1. Starting at the Bricks …
As I went through the gears, I was thinking I am going to get some here and at least go full throttle through all gears. Earlier in the day, Nicky was braking at about the third row of the Formula One grid, so I thought that it would be a good place for me to let off the throttle. The difference was that I didn’t rush back to the throttle to power through the “courage” corner of the racetrack.
2. Turn 1 tech …
What I really like about the traditional Turn 1 section of the racecourse is that you have a fast left-hander that will require a tight exit so that you can set yourself up for the double-apex right handers. Again, you have to exit tight so that you can get a clean corner leading on to the “traditional short chute.” This section is going to be quite nice because you will see several different approaches to the turns. In a race situation, there will be quicker ways through this section that may provide passing opportunities but will sacrifice the overall lap time, for sure.
3. Sweeper, decreasing radius, lazy esses, Hulman Boulevard …
It will be important to get a strong run coming out of Turn 4 because the next section is a time section and is one of the least likely places that you will see passing, but it will definitely be a place where riders will set up an outbraking maneuver in Turn 10 at the end of Hulman Boulevard. Turn 5 is a power-down sweeper that leads to a decreasing radius turn that is going to require a semi-tight exit so you can flow through the lazy esses. This area is going to be extremely important because the MotoGP bikes will draft down Hulman Boulevard. By the way, Nicky wasn’t kidding when he said that Turn 5 was deceiving — it really tightens up!
4. Hulman Boulevard, Traditional Turn 4 Infield …
All right, after the curvy technical section of the racetrack where I was scared, let’s get in to the sweeping section of the track. That’s right, I said scared. You would be, too, if you saw how many people were still waiting for Nicky to run a few more laps. They were all probably thinking, “Who in the world is this yo-yo?” Naaa, they probably knew it was Jarrod Krisiloff, “The Ride” blogger …
… Back to the track. Turn 10 is semi-fast and really doesn’t require a tight exit because because 11 is a patience carousel-style hairpin. In this corner, it’s important to get a clean exit for the next three corners, which are all left-handers. I look at these as like tokens in a video game. About as textbook as it gets: You hit the corner apex, drift out to the right side of the track and hit the next, and repeat. This is a fun section that almost feels like the bike takes control as you hang off your seat.
5. 15 and 16 …
After the “PlayStation” section of the track are Turns 15 and 16. A quick right-hander into a tight-tight-tight left-hander back on to the frontstretch. If you have seen my ride video, it doesn’t look that difficult because it appears that there is a lot of track on which to to accelerate. Wait, come race time the exit is going to be much tighter to keep the riders off the wall. After you get through the “PlayStation” portion, the rider is going to be faced with a “S”-like section that leads to the most important part of the track, the front stretch. In the “Traditional Turn 4″ portion of the track, a rider can make huge gains in Turns 15 and 16 down the straightaway through Turn 1.
That’s my lap around the track. Next week I hope to have a few videos from my new bike camera — that is sweet!
Ride safe.
JK
Last Friday, I got an e-mail from the company that said this …
“We would like to invite you to participate in the first track lap on the new MotoGP track. This will be done in association with the Nicky Hayden Historic 1st Lap that is taking place on April 7th.
A select group of people from the community will meet at the base of the Pagoda around 10:30am and the track lap will be at approximately 11am. Please bring your bike and park in the oval track garage area (you will see the other bikes parked there). We will be finished no later than 11:45am. Please let me know if you have any questions or if there is another rider within the company who needs an invitation.
Thank you,
Ellie”
I had been out of the office for quite a few days, so I was extremely excited about this particular e-mail. After arriving late on Sunday night and waking up early, I couldn’t wait to fire up my bike and head to the office. I sat there at my desk, anxiously awaiting 10:30 so that I could head over to the frontstretch for this ride. Then at about 9:45, I got a phone call from IMS Senior VP Mel Harder, and he asked when I was coming over to the track because he wanted me to lead the ride! I said, “I can come over whenever you want me to.”
I was honored and pumped, and jumped on my bike and rode on over to the garage area, dismounted and walked to the pagoda, where there was a large group of riders anxiously awaiting the opportunity to hit the track.
The ride was a lot of fun; I wasn’t the very first rider because even I couldn’t be trusted to keep a safe pace, so they put two of Indianapolis’s finest at the head of the field. When the ride was over, three of us went out to Rick’s Boatyard and enjoyed a nice lunch.
Later that day, I sent Mel another text message thanking him for putting the ride together and asked him when I could come over and do some laps at a decent pace (above 30 mph). He quickly responded, “How about 3:30, when Nicky is done?” I responded, “I’ll be there!”
I searched around the office for some cameras and found a small camera that was perfect to mount on my bike. I got it all fixed up and headed over to the track.
Once I got there, Mel and IMS engineering chief Kevin Forbes asked how many laps I was going to take, and I said “I don’t know, until I get bored.” Kevin quickly responded, “One lap?” I responded back, “No way, at least three!”
I really didn’t realize that Forbes’s crew was set to convert the track back to the traditional oval for the world’s biggest race, but I figured that “The Ride” blog deserved serious content!
The laps were awesome. I was extremely timid for the first lap since I hadn’t been on my bike in a while, and I wanted to be sure not to eat it. To be honest, it was my first time on a motorcycle on an actual racetrack, so I wasn’t exactly confident. Each lap I got a little braver but still kept a conservative pace.
So where’s the video? The video player actually ran out of battery so I didn’t get a thing. Sucka! Click here to watch the video. Enjoy.
I missed everyone last week! With the weekends filling up, I forgot to file my blog. Last weekend, I left the office and set sail with my family down to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the opening weekend of the 2008 IndyCar Series season. It was quite the adventure!
Megan and Van are with me for this trip because I decided to stay in Florida between the first two events
. My cousin Ed, his wife, Heather, and baby girl, Makenna (who is a month younger than Van), are spending the week with us in Sanibel. While I am trying to chill out as much as I can and get quality, family time, I still find myself on this friggin’ laptop, working. I guess that is what to expect in the first couple of races of the season.
The beginning of my trip was fun. Megan woke up at 4 a.m. last Friday, March 28 for our 6:30 plane flight. Our hotel didn’t have a room for us when we arrived. Cousin Ed looked like he was going to get the pole but he was penalized for (can’t really say what it was, but it wasn’t a big deal), and he charged to a fifth-place finish. Go Ed!
Sunday morning we started early and hit the road. We didn’t have any tunes because our rental car radio only got 88.5? Weird. The Ford mini-SUV even has a special-edition Hertz Sirius radio unit that doesn’t seem to work, either. So we traveled across Alligator Alley in our packed SUV. I had no idea what it really took to pack for a 20-pound infant. His bag was bigger than Megan’s and mine put together.
We
made it to the hotel before the Carpenters. They had a late start, so we spent time out at the pool until they got to the “resort.” As we were setting up, the babies were hanging out, and Ed and I were trying to figure out what we were going to do about the Wii situation. Apparently the hotel doesn’t allow visitors to be gamers, as well. So what to do in this situation? We rolled down to Wal-Mart so that the parents could enjoy Wii time once the little ones went to sleep.
It’s been relaxing, and it will continue to be a good time. We all headed to St. Pete on Thursday morning to get back into race mode.
Since last week, I’ve had my bike out a couple of times and have loved it!
This week was fairly hectic. The IndyCar Series season is right around the corner, indycar.com had its preview party on Wednesday, deadlines are creeping, and “Up To SPEED” debuts this week at indycar.com. It was one of those weeks where I felt that I had to run to the bathroom, run to the studio, run between offices just to get everything in.
With the little guy at home, it’s harder to stay at the office and finish out the day, so I had to take work home with me a couple of days. Luckily, the indycar.com preview party forced me to relax a little bit, hang out with IndyCar fans and polish up the first episode of “Up To SPEED.” Check out indycar.com for the first episode this weekend.
The most exciting thing that happened this week was my venture to 96th Street Steakburger, which is not located on 96th Street. I went with my cousin, who felt that since he hit the treadmill for 30 minutes that he was granted a loaded double cheeseburger, fries and a large chocolate shake.
You would think that after a meal like that, one would have no problem running out of gas! Well, about 10 minutes later, he did run out of gas – or should I say his car ran out of gas! Luckily for us, it was in one of the busiest areas of I-465, with one of the smallest shoulders. As semis and cars whished by, his Chevy Tahoe felt like it was going to tip over.
I spent about 30 minutes starring out the back of the Tahoe watching drivers come to consciousness as they nearly ran into the back of us. I even texted a co-worker, “We ran out of gas, I am really scared!”
Lucky for us, help provided a can of gas, and we were on our way. If your car has one of those mile counters that tell you how many miles you have left, be sure that when it hits 30 that you get some octane.
The weekend looks rainy, and we have a lot to do around the house to get prepared for little man’s first Easter, so I probably won’t get on my bike. But the ride to work on Monday looks good!
Have a Happy Easter!
Jarrod
On the road at last!
This past week was AWESOME! I picked up my bike on Tuesday and spent Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday on my bike. Just as I imagined, it was a blast, although the roads are like Swiss cheese in Indianapolis, and it definitely poses a few other obstacles. As if dodging dogs, cats, cars and other motorcyclists wasn’t enough!
Short blog this week because things are hectic at work. There are a lot of exciting things going on in the IndyCar world, and I am glad to be a part of it.
This year, be prepared for more interactivity and more ways to burn hours on the Web. Indycar.com is getting a facelift, and there will be more ways to enjoy traditional TV with the new IndyCar Race Control product. Like I said, it’s busy, but everyone is excited for the start of the season.
Jarrod
Check out the bike! It’s put back together with my new wheels, black on black on black. Now all I need is some dry weather and the city of Indianapolis to cover up all the pot holes, and I will be back on the bike!
Last weekend was a big weekend. Baby’s momma spent the weekend in Chicago working while myself and the Vanimal had man time all weekend.
On Saturday, I took the little guy to his first Supercross event, at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. We got there promptly as the gates opened so that I could get as much time at the event. You see, with a 7 p.m. bed time for the Vanimal, it’s awfully difficult to watch the main event. So we decided to spend the day at the RCA Dome, watch practice and even take a walk around the track.
The Ritual
Brother Kyle hooked it up with the best meals, awesome accommodations, great nightlife and a lot of good times for my bachelor party in Vegas.
Favorite place to eat: Little Buddah at The Palms
Favorite place to hit the tables: Wynn
Favorite Club: TAO
Favorite hole at Bali High Golf Course: 16th. Kyle and I stole the keys from the other carts in our group and ditched the group!
Favorite place to stay: Sky Lofts at MGM. Cannot beat it!
Don’t expect too many details because most of them are rather foggy, and, you know, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Honestly, though, the stories most likely never stay in Vegas, but it’s fun to say!
I am blogging to blog at this moment, Wednesday, Feb. 13. This is my second day home from work with what I like to call “The killer flu that won’t kill me!”
Just so you understand the pain that I am typing through right now, every strike of the keyboard is like getting poked in the eyes, followed by a sword slicing my head in half and a circus monkey clapping each side of my skull like cymbals! It hurts.