Motorcycles on Meridian
A spontaneous decision took Rooster and me to Monument Circle and Motorcycles on Meridian. It was a noisy and exciting adventure. #Motorcycles on Meridian #Indianapolis Motor Speedway #Monument Circle #Indianapolis #Indiana #The Brickyard #Moto GP World Championship #Bazbeaux #Soldiers and Sailors Monument
Event History
The year was 2008, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway came up with the idea to hold a motorcycle rally on Monument circle. It was a way to enhance the Red Bull Moto GP event known as the Indianapolis Grand Prix. The Brickyard held a series of motorcycle races on a combined road course from 2008 until 2015. The event was part of the Moto GP World Championships.
When the races stopped making the Indianapolis Motor Speedway one of their stops, the rally went into decline. Motorcycles on Meridian made a return in 2018. This year an estimated 30,000 riders and 50,000 participants made their way to downtown Indianapolis. Their arrival made Motorcycles on Meridian one of the largest attended biker events in the Great Lakes states.
To be very honest, Rooster and I forgot Motorcycles on Meridian was taking place. It was his weekend to work. We don’t make adventure plans on those weekends. I spent the morning writing, went for my walk, and cleaned house in the afternoon without giving a thought to what we would do once Rooster got home.
Pizza First at Bazbeaux
We made the combined decision to climb on the Dark Horse and head for a pizzeria we both like down near Indianapolis. Bazbeaux has some of the best pizza around. We always get one side of the pie as a Colossus, and on the other side we have their Pizza Alla Quattro Formaggio. The combination of the feta cheese and bacon on the Quattro Is a sensual experience for the taste buds. The Colossus is a more traditional pizza offering, but it is tasty in its own way. The combination of both always leaves us satisfied. The atmosphere at Bazbeaux in Carmel, Indiana is always pleasant.
It was good we were able to get a seat at a table outside. We always like to watch the bicycle riders and walkers on the trail which runs next to the restaurant. It’s a nice touch while we wait for the food to be brought to the table. In the middle of the meal,
Rooster got a notice he had a Facebook post. He checked his phone before he said, “Motorcycles on Meridian is happening right now. Do you want to go down and take a spin around the Circle?” We all know Rooster was talking to The Hen House Lady. I’m always up for a spontaneous adventure.
Ride down Meridian Street
We traveled past the mansion-like homes on north Meridian Street. These houses were built in the early 1900s. Business boomed in Indianapolis during The Roaring 20s. The cities movers and shakers chose the near northside neighborhood as a place to erect enormous monuments to celebrate their wealth and position in society. A drive down the street is an adventure into Tudor revival, Jacobean, colonial revival, Neo-classical, and prairie style architecture.
Miraculously, these old homes haven’t been chopped up into rentals. The neighborhood is still a testament to the wealthy people of the city. You must be able to afford the property taxes to live in a house in this section of Indianapolis even if you inherited the property. I’ve heard rumors it can run as high as twenty thousand a year or higher. The preservation of these old homes can be attributed to a volunteer group.
The Meridian Street Foundation works hard to support the preservation of the neighborhood. Nostalgic feelings come over me whenever we journey through this section of Meridian on our journey to Monument Circle.
Soldiers and Sailors Monument
The scenery changes dramatically once we crossed 38th Street. Tall apartment buildings line the congested street. The city bus runs through here. Traffic has a tendency to become snarled the closer you get to downtown. Rooster and I could see the Soldiers and Sailors Monument off in the distance.
Motorcycles were coming and going in packs the closer we got to the circle. When we reached our destination, there were so many motorcycles it was difficult to process everything there was to take in with one glance.
Police officers stood guard at the entrance to Monument Circle to keep the peace and to make certain only motorcycles entered the Circle. A large gathering of motorcycle enthusiasts had somehow managed to converge on this one single spot on the globe without incident.
Bikers of every age, gender, race, and size
Bikers of every age, gender, race, and size were converging into the area in a sort of organized chaos. Motorcycles of every make and model were either parked or rolling. Back patches were displayed with pride. A sort of declaration of what tribe you belonged to.
Road rage was a possibility with everyone trying to converge into one place, but everyone seemed to be watching out for the rider next to them. As we rounded the corner, we could see the Statehouse to our right. It was a powerful statement that American bikers still exists in the United States of America.
We scanned the crowd
Rooster and I scanned the crowd for a familiar face. We realized after a single trip around the Circle we wouldn’t find the group we ride with. Rooster worried the Indian would overheat if we attempted to make another trip around to look for our friends. We saw some amazing sights on our first journey. The most notable was a motorcycle covered in purple fake fur.
Exit on the north side of the circle
We made our exit on the north side of the circle and headed for home. After the sun went down, our trip home turned cold. It was the first sign fall would be here soon followed by the freezing cold season. Rooster and I aren’t certain we’ll make it through another Indiana winter. It’s not so much the ice and snow but the freezing cold temperatures we aren’t looking forward to. I’ll save that worry for another day. I plan to enjoy the summer we have left and the beauty which comes with fall. Ride safe everyone and keep both wheels on the asphalt.
Who is Molly Shea?
Molly Shea is an accomplished fictional short story writer from Indiana, who writes short stories and novels about a fictional town called Tecumseh. To read more of her short stories and adventures click here.
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