Road Trip Day #8– Part 1/2 IndyGP and Motorcycle Midway

I started the day early. Entirely too early given how late I was out the night before downtown with all the crowds. I crossed this bridge on Friday; it was too busy to stop then. Not so on Saturday morning. It just seemed like an interesting park. Need more time to explore.

I started the day by visiting the Suzuki photographer. I did this in 2013 as well. He seemed to remember me, so we had a nice time chatting while he took some nice pictures of my SV650.

Then it was time to park in the Suzuki owner’s parking space conveniently located within the motorcycle midway. Thanks Suzuki!

Again, this year, I had very nice tickets thanks to William. I decided to spend Saturday getting in some different viewing angles. I noticed the stands at the beginning of the front straight were open and had a nice view of the last few corners.

It was nice to see some different angles than I am used to. Even after several years of coming here, I still don’t feel like I’ve seen the action from all angles.

A view of the motorcycle midway from the stands

Looking down the front straight. An amazing feeling when the motorcycles go by at wide open throttle.

In addition to the sights and noise, you can feel them go by.

I went back to my bike to get some more snacks as I made my way over to the stunt shows. I found this cool vstrom parked next to me. The bike looked like it could have ridden all the way from Alaska. A quick check of the plates… Indiana.

The Ducati owner’s parking area was finally filling up.

The stunt show started with Terry Adams the best BMX rider in the world. His stunts were… just wow. He was literally dancing with the bicycle. I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves. He was really impressive.

Of course the entire time he’s doing his stunts, there was Moto2 practice behind us. Awesome noises of the bikes flying onto the back straight.

Then Aaron Colton came out. An amazing motorcycle stunt rider from Minnesota!

I’ve been fortunate enough to watch his shows for many years now in MN. He’s very talented. My favorite stunt of his is when he puts the bike into a wheelie and then spins it around on the back tire while standing on the rear seat no hands. I didn’t get a photo of that stunt this time.

Gotta love the burnouts!

Both riders were very nice. I was able to get a few minutes to chat with them after the show. They were both generous and signed an autograph. Cool!

After the stunt show, it was time for my demo ride. Yup, Suzuki was giving rides of their bikes lead by some MSF ridercoaches through the streets of Indianapolis. I chose a 2015 vstrom 650 ABS. I had the choice between white and black. The white looked a tough nicer.

I really enjoyed riding it. I want it. Their 0% financing for 60 months is making it more tempting.

Look carefully at the scooter on the right. That’s one lucky and well trained dog!

Saturday was a fun filled day with all kinds of activities going on besides watching the practices and qualifying. I had a great time. Stay tuned for part 2/2 for Day #8.

 

Related Posts:

• YouTube Playlist: Road Trip 2015
• Road Trip Day #10–Iowa, Minnesota, and Home 
• Road Trip Day #9–Indianapolis MotoGP
• Road Trip Day #8– Part 2/2 Motorcycles on Meridian
• Road Trip Day #8– Part 1/2 IndyGP and Motorcycle Motorcycle Midway
• Road Trip Day #7–Indianapolis
• Road Trip Day #6–More Mountains!
• Road Trip Day #5–Mountains FTW!
• Road Trip Day #4–Memphis to Chattanooga
• Road Trip Day #3–Memphis, TN
• Road Trip Day #2–MO to TN
• Road Trip Day #1–MN to MO

Indianapolis MotoGP: Day 2

Sunday was race day in Indianapolis. I was looking forward to watching the races! I regularly follow MotoGP and Moto2 on motogp.com, but don't always get to see moto3, so it was a treat to see all three in action.

I picked up a 2014 Yamaha Racing visor from the Yamaha tent. The line was long, but it will look nice next to the one I got in 2013.

In the morning, I watched the warm up from the grassy hill on the outside of turn 10 at the end of the back straight. It is quite a long walk, so I never made it on my previous visits to IMS. It was a nice place to relax and watch for a time.

I was happy to be able to meet up with my friend Rania aka @madsocial and her boyfriend. We watched most of the moto3 race together near turn 9. It was nice to catch up and share some racing with them as it was their first time to a MotoGP event.

I watched Moto2 and MotoGP from the amazing seats @todkapuz has overlooking turns 1-5. I have been grateful to sit in his extra seat for the last few years. Thank you again!

The Moto2 race had to be restarted because of a serious crash near turn 10. When it restarted, there was a crash with several riders near turn2. I captured part of it in the photo above. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt.

The MotoGP race was entertaining for the few laps while Rossi was leading. Then Marquez took over as usual and ran away with it. Marquez has won every race this year which makes it a little less fun to watch. There was some nice action again around turn 2 which was nice to see in person. The weather cooperated nicely and it didn't rain during the race even though the dark clouds were threatening.

I really enjoyed the opportunity to watch the races from such great seats. Thanks again @todkapuz.

On Saturday, I met up with my friend Ray from MN. He hauled his Ducati in the back of his truck. He offered me a space on the way back which I took. The 670 mile on the freeway solo isn't that much fun, so I eagerly jumped at the chance to have some company for the journey home.

I bought some extra straps from one of the vendors, and we loaded my SV650 into his truck. The cases easily fit inside. It was a comfy and dry ride home inside with some great conversation. Thanks Ray!

It was a great motorcycle-filled weekend.

Indianapolis MotoGP: Day 1

I'm happy to be in Indianapolis again for MotoGP this year. I am again thankful to Todkapuz for sending me a ticket. I'm also sad he couldn't join me this weekend.

I parked my SV650 in the VIP parking area next to the museum. This is a great spot since it is so close to the action. The only thing better is the Ducati spot in the middle.

I packed very light and only partially filled on case, so I was able to get all my gear: helmet, gloves, boots, coat, pants, and back protector in as well. It was nice to walk around in sandals and a tshirt.

Like last year, I was happy to enjoy the XDL freestyle stunt show. The same riders as last year put on a great show. I watched it twice.

New this year, was a trials demonstration.  I always enjoy watching trials. The motorcycle control is amazing! He did the entire 15 minute show without putting a foot down once. I also watched this one twice. So fun!

In between the shows, I watched free practice and qualifying of all three classes: moto3, moto2, and motogp. It was fun to watch them live. I enjoyed moving around to differrent parts of the track for the various views. I made my 10,000 steps by lunch. IMS is a huge place.

I love feeling the sound the bikes make. Amazing. Yes, feel the sound. My favorite spot is the bridge over the back straight. The sound the bikes make at full throttle sounds great and the sound waves virbrate the entire bridge as they pass underneath. Awesome.

I tried to see an interview with Pedrosa and Marquez in the Honda tent. I briefly saw them as they came in. Then, I could only see arms in the air all waving cameras, so I just listened instead.

There was also a small and slightly sad motorcycle show for such an international event. Our local monthly bike night in Minneapolis has more interesting and a better variety of bikes. These are two of my favorites.

Luckily the weather cooperated again today. It wasn't too hot, and more importantly, it didn't rain. I hope race day tomorrow is as much fun and is as dry as today was.

Watching Motorcycle Racing with Friends

This past Sunday, I spent the day watching the final round of World SuperBike and the Australian MotoGP. My friend Ray has a new workshop with lots of space for bikes, people, and a nice TV. The weather was cold and rainy, so I was the only rider. I took the Ural since it is much warmer than the SV.

It was a fun time watching with so many other interested fans. Normally, I watch on the couch at home. More people is definitely better. The MotoGP race was quite good. If you haven’t seen it and have the means, take the time. It’s worth it. They did something they’ve never done before, mandatory pit stop for a dry race. Bridgestone didn’t have tires that could go race distance, so they deemed it unsafe to ride more than 10 laps of the 19 lap race on one set of tires. It made the race very interesting.

Indianapolis MotoGP 2013 (and the ride home)

Last month I was in Indianapolis to watch the MotoGP races. I normally watch the races on MotoGP.com, but seeing them in person is a much richer experience as you would expect. My tickets let me into the event Friday, Saturday, and Sunday just like last year. You can read about my trip there last year here.

I like to get there early to avoid the crazy traffic later in the day. On both Saturday and Sunday it was pretty empty around 8am. Nice and easy to find a parking spot. Suzuki had the space near turn 2, so all Suzuki owners got free trackside parking. Nice! Sunday was pretty empty except for a nice Vstrom from Canada. I tried not to drool directly onto his bike.

Instead I made my way inside the Suzuki compound to drool on the demo models instead. I like the look of the adventure model, but wouldn’t buy it. I don’t like the bags. I have my own. I don’t need more cluttering up the garage. I thought for sure I would have bought a vstrom by now, but maybe next year.

Suzuki had a pro photographer taking photos of owners and their bikes for free. I really liked how this one of my SV650 turned out. Thanks Suzuki!

The moto midway is inside the track and filled with all kinds of events to keep you busy throughout the day. Lots of shows and vendors are setup. I already posted up the fun I had watching the stunt show.

Yamaha was giving free riding lessons to little kids. It was funny to watch them ride around their little track of hay bales.

In the Yamaha tent they had all their new bikes on display just like Suzuki, Ducati, and Honda. This Super Tenere had an interesting accessory… a winch where the topcase should be. Ride into a swamp and pull yourself out? Seems like it might be a bit hard to balance while using it. hmm.

One of my highlights for the weekend was watching the electric motorcycles. They put in lap times similar to Moto3, and were nearly silent. When they went by, you could hear the chain noise, and the tires rubbing on the track. A very neat experience. I want to ride one!

Here are some Moto3 riders practicing their launches at the end of a warm-up session on the back straight. It was very common after the session had ended for them to stop on the last lap and practice their starts.

This is where my MSF ticket had me sitting. It was a very nice view of turn 1 and the front straight. The shade was also nice. Not a lot of people yet for Moto3.

From the same spot turn 2,3,4 were easily visible. I watched the Moto3 and Moto2 races with the MSF RiderCoaches. We had nearly the whole section reserved.

In between the Moto2 and MotoGP races, I was able to meet up with @Reyzie. We’ve only interacted on Twitter, so it was nice to put a face with the name. Nice meeting you!

For the MotoGP race, I sat with @Todkapuz as I did last year. He had an extra ticket, and the views from the SW Vista are very nice. We had a fun time together on Saturday and Sunday. A shame he has to live so far away in FL.

A pic of MotoGP coming through turn 3 for the first time.

MotoGP riders coming through turn 4 for the first time. Amazing how loud they were as they accelerated into turns 5 and 6.

The races were a great time just like last year. I had fun with all the different events and meeting some new and old friends. I’m looking forward to going again in 2014.

After the races, I went straight back to my bike and prepared to leave to try and beat the mob of traffic out of the city. I was greeted with a new keychain holder stuck into my seat by Suzuki. Thanks! I’ve been using it since. I like it.

I had hoped to hop directly on the freeway near the race track, but the local PD had other ideas. Instead of letting vehicles go directly to the freeway like last year, they refused to let us turn that direction and forced us into the city center. Ugh! My GPS wasn’t very useful since it kept telling me to turn around. For miles, they had the road blocked off. I just kept riding until I recognized a major street. I easily wasted 30 minutes trying to get back to I-74.

I had entered the waypoint for my house into the GPS, and I had intended on riding until I was tired and then stopping for the night. That didn’t happen.

Around 8pm, I had talked to my wife and mentioned to her the GPS thought I could get home before midnight. She was excited and said she’d wait up for me. I took the most direct way home instead of the slow fun route I had originally planned.

Around 10pm, I started getting sleepy and cold. I stopped to put on some more clothes, and to take a quick nap at a rest stop along I-94. After 15 minutes, I was ready to go again. I still thought I could make it. I was wrong.

I-94 across Wisconsin is a dark and relatively cold place at night. The traffic really thins out after midnight as well. My little headlight wasn’t enough, so my speed was reduced until other vehicles caught up to me and there was more light. It was rather scary seeing deer stand right on the side of the road.

The pattern of stopping for a quick nap and to put on more clothes continued all the way home. At the last stop I had already put on everything I had to wear: two pairs of pants, two t-shirts, a long sleeve shirt, and my fleece. The last thing I had was a Suzuki magazine which I opened up and put inside the chest area to cut the cold breeze.

It was in the 90s after all during the day, so I was dressed for heat. The little valleys were quite chilly and damp to ride through. With no sun for warmth it was a cold dark ride. The fact I was so sleepy probably wasn’t helping keep me warm either. A windshield would have been nice.

I arrived home just after 2am CST. I had called my wife hours before and told her not to wait up. I had ridden 665 miles in just over 12 hours. A new record for me most miles in one day beating my previous 613. It was a long, fun day.

 

Full Flickr Album of 65 pictures here.