Finally, a few days off. The IndyCar Series takes its first weekend off in four weeks, and it’s much deserved. For most in the “traveling circus”, the weekend off is time to catch up with family, friends and sleep.
The same is said for the MotoGP paddock, as well. It started at Assen then a weekend off, Laguna, Sachsenring, Donington Park followed by a few weeks before and after Brno. It’s a grueling schedule across large bodies of sea! This is the most tiring stretch of races for all three classes in MotoGP. Luckily for Red Bull Indianapolis GP fans, the riders will be well rested before they hit the bricks at IMS on Aug. 28-30.
On Wednesday, July 15, I took a stroll over to the IMS Hall of Fame Museum to check out the eagerly anticipated Alpinestars line of Red Bull Indianapolis GP clothing. It’s a fair amount of articles ranging from T’s to hoodies for both men and women.
Here are my picks!
1) Vintage Inspired T with Indianapolis Motor Speedway and a Picture of Nicky on the Vintage Indian.
2) Black AStars Hoodie (I like)
3) Black and White Petite polo(Women’s)
4) Flat Billed AStars hat
5) Black Woven Crew Shirt (I like)
I couldn’t resist the crew shirt and hoodie. I wanted to get the entire line, but I figured it would be a little much to be head-to-toe event gear. Perhaps I could get a few pieces for writing this blog?
Most don’t know but Red Bull is extremely sensitive with their brand being associated with other brands. This is a very unique line of clothing that blends Alpinestars(the official clothing line of MotoGP), Red Bull, MotoGP and the IMS Centennial Logo all on great-looking products.
All of these products are available at the IMS Online Store and Hall of Fame Museum Gift Shop. Act fast, though, because the gear is flying off the shelves. Seriously, I had to order my size!
Buy tickets for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard!
Jarrod
‘Tis the season! Unfortunately for those riders in the Midwest, ‘tis the season to be depressed…
A brisk 25 degrees and icy conditions surround the Indianapolis area, which means my motos are locked up in the garage. In fact, they have been locked up for weeks now. Last Saturday I thought that I was going to get at least a few minutes on a sunny, 49-degree day. I missed out only to wake up to a snowy, sleety Sunday morning. Grrr.
So anyway, let’s take a look at what to buy yourself or somebody else for the spring motorcycle season. I am going to take a crack at just about every category for guys and gals. If there is something that I missed, please write in, and I will be sure to cover it in the next blog.
Helmets: I’m an Arai guy, so I always suggest an Arai. Arai makes their helmets in three or four different head shapes so that just about anyone can find a perfect-fitting helmet. I know that they typically aren’t the flashiest helmets on the market but, safety first!
If you must have a flashy helmet, I suggest the ICON helmets.
Jackets: I picked a jacket for the guys and for the ladies. Both Alpinestars and ICON can live happily ever after on a single bike with these two designs. Both are a bit radical, perhaps geared toward a street rider, but they have a normal usage appeal. Meaning: They have a bit of style to them, too.
Men’s Jacket (left): Alpinestars Sniper Jacket: $169.95
Women’s Jacket (right): ICON Team Merc Stage 3: $190
Pants: Two approaches here. For the guys, usable comfort while staying functional to escape road rash, and for the women, dead sexy gear! For the guys, I picked the Scorpion Awe Leather pant. They aren’t too tight, yet they still have character. You wouldn’t feel odd wearing these around into a restaurant. For the women, it’s the ICON Bombshell Kitty Chaps. Every motorcycle girl should be wearing chaps; it’s just fun. This particular pair struts all the fun stuff; flames, stars, fringe, laces and, of course, a pair of pistols…
Men’s Pants (left): Scorpion Awe Leather Pant: $249
Women’s Pants (right): ICON Bombshell Kitty Chaps: $100
Boots: Often I see riders cruising around with flip-flops and trainer shoes. That’s just not smart riding. The last thing you want to do is get some grease on your newest pair of Nikes. So here are a couple of nicely styled riding boots. Women need heels at all times so ICON creates the Bombshell boots equipped with grip rubber soles and buckles to ensure a snug fit. Puma carries a line of fashionable boots as well as full competition boots ready for the track. The Desmo is the perfect fit for the all-around rider that wants a some function. The Desmo boots have a built-in toe puck in case dragging your foot or knee is a habit.
Men’s Boots (left): Puma Desmo Boots: $249
Women’s Boots (right): ICON Bombshell Boots $170
Happy shopping.
Jarrod
Well, after weeks of perfect weather, Hurricane Ike put a big twist on my wedding weekend and others’ MotoGP weekend.
Rain, sun, rain, sun … It was a constant game of “What should we do?”
To keep the wedding short, we had a great time. The band was excellent, and the party ended at 3 a.m. at the Terminal in downtown Terre Haute.
I guess technically you can say that we honeymooned in Indianapolis. After our wedding on Friday, we woke up, headed back home, hopped on the Scrambler and went to the track. By the time we got there, we missed most of the GP practices but were lucky enough to catch the Red Bull Rookies Cup. It was pretty amazing watching the kids tear it up out there and put everything on the line. I understand that it was the biggest race of all of their lives, and they showed it.
Megan and I were watching from the “Ducati Island” and saw several wipeouts, including a big high side coming out of Turn 4. Those kids were tough!
Once most of the track activity had wound down, Megan and I chilled out before our evening plans downtown. We laid low, went to the Capitol Grill at the Conrad and had our first dinner as a married couple. It was fun and low-key, which we followed up with an early night in. We were still exhausted from the night before. I was pretty impressed with the crowd downtown. There was an awful lot of buzz in the air, which made if feel like the Indy 500 weekend.
On Sunday, we woke up early and caught some of the morning practices before it started to rain. While the rain was coming down, I met with an IndyCar partner who is helping with a few new media initiatives that everyone should check out. Visit www.indycarmessenger.com to find out more.
Our meeting was at the Alpinestars hospitality area. I took Megan along. While we were there, Andrew Whitney, the gentlemen that we were meeting, introduced Megan and I to John Canton, the director of communications for Ducati. For a minute, we talked about the event and how great it was, as well as my past lust for the Hypermotard!
Before the race, Megan and I went down to the grid to check out the bikes up close. We took a few pictures on the grid. The coolest time of the day was the launch to start the race. It was just phenomenal to see them accelerate that fast in the wet! What was even more amazing was when the weather got really, really bad, the good guys didn’t appear to slow down. They were like missiles going down the front stretch. Amazing!
Moto GP was awesome, and I can’t wait until next year.
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