Recently, Sean and I spent time in Indianapolis at the Brickyard - the Indianapolis 500, or Mecca, as many folks call it. It's a 1,025 acre racing complex with several variations/combination of track. As a motorcycle racing neophyte, I was somewhat intimidated with all the stuff I didn't know. Hell, I STILL don't know all the specifics of the bikes.
What I do know is that camping and attending a primarily outdoor event on the weekend that a Category 3 Hurricane is ripping the central United States apart is...well, a risky proposition. So we packed, prepared as best we could, and hoped for the best.
When we arrived on Friday, the rain was constant and light. And annoying, but I digress. We set up camp, and killed some time in the tent wishing we'd brought a deck of cards. We hopped back and forth between the campground and the stadium for a couple events, made some dinner and hit the hay. And by "hay," I mean our freshly inflated Aerobeds. Heh.
Saturday, the weather took a turn for the BEAUTIFUL! I took a break from my constant henpecking and fretting about the forecasted precipitation, and we hit the track for some qualifying rounds. Then we wandered around the infield, I got super cranky in the heat, and when we finally got back to the shower trucks and I saw myself in the mirror, I suddenly knew why. I was sunburnt. All over - especially my face.
Since I'd pretty much ruined the possibility of makeup and/or looking generally presentable for the rest of the weekend, I put on some clean clothes (huzzah!) and prayed for a good hair evening. We jetted over to the Indianapolis State Fairgrounds complex to see the Lucas Oil Flat Track Championship. Yes, a dirt race at the state fairgrounds. It was particularly interesting upon arrival because the interior streets of the fair complex were LITTERED with bikes. They were EVERYWHERE.
The races were kind of cool, even though the bikes spit up hard bits of mud into the stands (we were in the third row). We left early after doing some mental math and realizing that we wanted to escape the crowds more than we wanted to see the results of the race. We're hermit-y like that, what can I say?
Sunday was the BIG DAY, the inaugural running of the RedBull MotoGP at Indianapolis - the first motorcycle race at Indy in nearly 100 years! Unfortunately the rain was heavy, frustratingly intermittent, and accompanied by 40-60 mph gusts of wind. Oh boy. Let's just say that our ponchos saw some major use. The race was really awesome to watch and the crowd was so supportive and loyal to their favorite drivers. It was like NASCAR, only high-brow and slightly European.
Despite the sad weather, I had so much fun. I hope we go again next year!
What I do know is that camping and attending a primarily outdoor event on the weekend that a Category 3 Hurricane is ripping the central United States apart is...well, a risky proposition. So we packed, prepared as best we could, and hoped for the best.
When we arrived on Friday, the rain was constant and light. And annoying, but I digress. We set up camp, and killed some time in the tent wishing we'd brought a deck of cards. We hopped back and forth between the campground and the stadium for a couple events, made some dinner and hit the hay. And by "hay," I mean our freshly inflated Aerobeds. Heh.
Saturday, the weather took a turn for the BEAUTIFUL! I took a break from my constant henpecking and fretting about the forecasted precipitation, and we hit the track for some qualifying rounds. Then we wandered around the infield, I got super cranky in the heat, and when we finally got back to the shower trucks and I saw myself in the mirror, I suddenly knew why. I was sunburnt. All over - especially my face.
Since I'd pretty much ruined the possibility of makeup and/or looking generally presentable for the rest of the weekend, I put on some clean clothes (huzzah!) and prayed for a good hair evening. We jetted over to the Indianapolis State Fairgrounds complex to see the Lucas Oil Flat Track Championship. Yes, a dirt race at the state fairgrounds. It was particularly interesting upon arrival because the interior streets of the fair complex were LITTERED with bikes. They were EVERYWHERE.
The races were kind of cool, even though the bikes spit up hard bits of mud into the stands (we were in the third row). We left early after doing some mental math and realizing that we wanted to escape the crowds more than we wanted to see the results of the race. We're hermit-y like that, what can I say?
Sunday was the BIG DAY, the inaugural running of the RedBull MotoGP at Indianapolis - the first motorcycle race at Indy in nearly 100 years! Unfortunately the rain was heavy, frustratingly intermittent, and accompanied by 40-60 mph gusts of wind. Oh boy. Let's just say that our ponchos saw some major use. The race was really awesome to watch and the crowd was so supportive and loyal to their favorite drivers. It was like NASCAR, only high-brow and slightly European.
Despite the sad weather, I had so much fun. I hope we go again next year!
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