Surviving The Chaos: Indianapolis

Our first day at the track was pretty fun although it was really hot. The track was huge but not exactly what I expected it to be. It was old like the rest of the town. We watched two practice rounds from different spots on the track. The sponsors of the bikes, riders and event have big tents up with different activities and things for sale so we walked through and saw everything.
We sat on one of Jorge Lorenzo's race bikes - which is what Ben races also.

My favorite part of the day was meeting Ben Spies. He's our favorite rider. I happen to think he looks a little like Ricky - so of course, he's cute! Even Lincoln really like him. Anytime he does something fast like run, ride his bike, race Logan, he always says he's Ben Spies. Anytime he sees the number 11, Lincoln says, "Look, a 1 and a 1 like Ben Spies!" We are a Spies fan club family.

That day was the premiere release of his new biography, Taking it to the Next Level. He signed books for a limited number of fans and we happened to be second in line. We got a lot of pictures and told him that Lincoln says he's fast like Ben Spies, and that his number is a 1 and a 1. Ben seemed to appreciate that; although I wish Lincoln was with us to meet him. We also met his mom, Mary. She was really sweet and talked to us for about five minutes telling me a story about when Ben's grandmother passed away and he was just really young and riding the tractor on the family farm in Texas.

That afternoon we watched a Q&A session with all of the riders and also attended a charity auction, but we didn't buy at it. We got a pretty good sun burn but still really enjoyed our day at the track.

Later that evening we walked downtown and ate dinner at Weber Grille. We wanted to try new places and it was delicious. I would highly recommend it to anyone. Besides great food, we saw Nicky Hayden (another rider) there eating with his family. I would like to point out that I'm the one that recognized him and told Ricky. Ricky shook his and and told him good luck. He was really nice and appreciative. All in all, it was a great day.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Pagoda

Ben Spies...

He wasn't taking pictures with anyone which was a bummer but Ricky was a great photographer and captured some great shots for me.

I read half the book on the way home and it's pretty interesting. I've learned a lot about Ben, his mom - who is a major factor in his success and also about the sport in general.

Mamma (Mary) Spies

Ricky on Jorge Lorenzo's bikes. I'm pretty sure he could've been a racer.

Ricky at the dealership tents.

Valentino Rossi - I'm not a fan of his. I think it's just trendy to like him. I will say though that the more I've heard his interviews off the track, the more I seem to like him. (Ducati Rider)