Hailwood

I completely agree with you about Indy - they are truly committed to making this event great for all the fans all weekend long. Downtown was absolutely awesome. It was almost worth it just to be able to walk around and look at all those bikes. Between the Motorcycles on Meridian, all the stuff they had going on @ the Speed Stage, and the Indy Mile, there were some really difficult choices to make about which event to attend. I'll definitely be going back as long as they have the event there.

My dad and I went to Indy for the MotoGP race again this year and had another great time. It's really cool being around the international series and seeing just how talented the top guys really are. There were also a ton of cool people and bikes all over town - The downtown event each night was awesome, and drew a huge crowd. I spent quite a bit of time taking pictures. Indy isn't the friendliest track, but there are a couple of good spots you can either shoot through the fence, or find an opening. Here are some of the better ones: Valentino Rossi coming through T6: Ben Spies giving a mini shout-out to all the photogs. I'm really glad I was ready for this one: Rossi leading Dovi from T2-3 Jorge Lorenzo coming through T6 Spies really cranked over through T4: Spies getting low again: Hayden coming into T10: Race winner Dani Pedrosa: Colin Edwards hard on the brakes before T10: Edwards coming through T6: The weekend was considerably sobered by the death of USPGRU rider Peter Lenz who sustained critical injuries during the race warm-up. Godspeed to you Peter: Some from downtown: I saw quite a few bikes like this but this was definitely the nicest - it seemed like a new trend in Indy to take late 70's UJM's and give them this treatment. It was pretty cool.

Those are great shots e-flores! Are those from the inside of the Esses? I'm curious where you got that angle, it's spectacular!

You can get down into the paddock area ($15 IIRC), but not into the actual pits most of the time. You can check out all the team garages and typically see the riders walking around. Most of them are very cool about stopping and talking to fans. They also have some balcony type areas above the garages where you can watch the action in the pits. They do have a fan walk where you can walk through the actual pits for ~30 minutes before the races and meet the riders.

Nice shots! It looked like those guys were having a great time out there, and I imagine it would really add an interesting perspective to watching the races later in the day.

Thanks for the kind words guys. I probably should have just continued renting, but I found a fantastic deal on this lens a few months ago, so I wound up buying it.

This year marks the 10th year in a row that my Dad and I have been going to Mid-Ohio for the AMA races and it continues to be a great time. The crowd was the smallest it's been in years, but the racing was some of the best, especially the Daytona Sportbike guys - that was a 4 way battle the entire race and came down to the very end. We were fortunate enough to have some great weather, so I was able to stay out and shoot pretty much all day. The lighting was a bit on the harsh side, but I'm pretty happy with the results. Here are some of the better shots: Josh Hayes in Superbike practice: Tommy Hayden: Larry Pegram coming out of Turn 1: Elbow dragging in T1: B-Boz in T1. He had a great day for someone who had just destroyed his left thumb: Josh Herrin coming into the Carousel in the DSB race: These 4 guys battled it out the entire race with Eslick going off track trying to make a last lap pass: Bostrum pushing hard to try and catch Hayes in the Superbike Race: Superbike race leaders coming out of T9: There were also some really great battles further back in the field: Bostrum & Hayes in T10. Bostrum pushed really hard, but just couldn't quite catch Hayes: Josh Hayes celebrating a well-deserved victory: Harley XR1200 cup qualifying. I have to admit, these bikes were really cool to watch. The fastest guys were running within <15 seconds of the superbikes: These were all shot with a Canon 40D and 300mm F4 lens. I took about 300 shots, most of which I still working on. You can check out the rest of them here at my site.

Very nice! Some of the best rides I remember from the old shop I used to work at were on an FZR. They are pretty quick in the right hands, and I too have a soft spot for them.

That orange S3 is by far my favorite color. I only wish I'd been able to find one used when I was looking last year. Just wait until you get the exhaust...that sound will make you do bad things.

I'm riding to West Virginia tomorrow morning, but I won't be coming back until Sunday.

After riding 255, I don't see any reason to try 536, unless I was interested in making the ride that much more challenging by adding a strong chance that I might die into the mix.

Awesome, awesome ride. Perfect weather, great roads, and a really nice pace. Most importantly everyone made it back ok. 26 is always as good as I remember, and the traffic on 800 wasn't too bad. Thanks a lot for showing us 255 UP - that is a truly fantastic road. Was great to meet / see you guys again. We'll have to do it again soon.

Just be 'sick'. One of us can sound all doctor-y to get you off the hook.

Weather's looking fantastic for tomorrow, and I just finished getting the new tires on the FZ1. So as long as all goes well on my shakedown ride I'll be good to go! One last time: Millersburg Speedway on OH-83, 10:00 AM. 10:15 we hit the road.

http://www.ohio-riders.com/showpost.php?p=521290&postcount=15

I'll be riding pretty much all day tomorrow: http://www.ohio-riders.com/showthread.php?t=61811

10AM at the Speedway on 83 in Millersburg. From there I'm planning on following this route that will put us back at the DQ in Bolivar: Link to Map Also, I am planning a lunch stop, probably at Subway, in Marietta. Other than that, planning on keeping the stopping to a minimum.

I'm not concerned about traffic on these roads, nor am I particularly concerned about speeding tickets, primarily because I've ridden them before on holiday weekends (Memorial, Labor Day, etc), but also because I'm not planning on an OMGWTFBBQ pace.

With the weather looking so good, I'm planning on taking Friday off to get in a relatively long ride. My plan is to head down 83 to Marietta and then up 26 to 800 and then back to Akron. I'd like to start relatively early (~9 AM from Akron) and would be more than willing to meet up with folks in Millersburg @ ~10 if there's some interest. We can finish up at the DQ in Bolivar. The distance is about 350 miles round-trip from Akron. I think the last time I did this ride it took 7~8 hours with a stop for lunch and was a ton of fun. I'm planning on taking the FZ1 for this, so my pace won't be crazy. Figure ~70ish on the straights and whatever I feel brave enough to try in the corners. If anyone's interested, let me know and I'll post up a more detailed ride plan.

Anyone with a Hawk GT is automatically cool. A GT like this is a whole different level. Very nice.

I rode quite a few Futuras when I worked at AMS, and my dad owned one for awhile. I still think it's one of the best motorcycles I've ever ridden, and with a set of staintunes one of the best sounding bikes too.

Saw this vid posted on Autoblog the other day - very nice. It continues to amaze me the quality of video shot by the 5DII.

Very nice. I still have trouble taking in the concept of a modern sportbike that makes 50% more power at the wheel than my car.

Looks like I won't be able to make it either. I'll catch you on the next one. You guys ride safe and stay dry.

If the weather looks good, I'd be interested. Would be nice to go on a ride with another Speed Triple.