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DAY 40

Week 6

INDIANAPOLIS (Indiana, USA) to MAMMOTH CAVES (Kentucky, USA)
via Louisville (Kentucky, USA)

Sunday July 30th, 2006

TODAYS MILEAGE – 280 miles or 451 kilometres

TRIP MILEAGE – 5908 miles or 9508 kilometres

40 days huh - didn't something biblical happen after 40 days???

Today I packed more into it than Ivan Trumps suitcases, it was a kind of a "power" day. Horsepower - both mechanical and equine as well as hitting power.

Let me just start out by saying the Gods must have been smiling as I got to Indianapolis Motor Speedway on one of their selected "course inspection" days. They only have about 40 of these all told for the year and I was able to hit one of them. I started with the 20 minute theatre presentation of the history of the track and then we spent the best part of 2 hours touring the track, grandstands, pits, media and officiating areas. I would have to say it was the best put together presentation that I've seen so far on this trip.

The raceway was in the midst of preparations for the upcoming NASCAR Brickyard 400 and they are putting on a real good show. I got the distinct impression that the staff members do not have a lot of time for the Formula 1 crowd, based on thier rather acidic comments. The underlying thread was that Formula 1 basically takes over the track and all the Indianapolis Motor Speedway are at their beck and call. Still, if the track wasn't making money off the F1, why would they put up with it.

That brings us to numbers on race day. Associated Press has guesstimated that on Indianapolis 500 day, there are between 450,000 and 475,000 paying race fans at the race track. There were between 320,000 and 360,000 at last years NASCAR Brickyard 400 while they say that only between 140,000 and 160,000 fans were at this years Formula 1 race. Why are the numbers only guesstimates you ask - it's a privately owned track, hence the secrecy.

121 miles (194 kilometres) to the South is the city of Louisville (Kentucky). There were only two reasons I wanted to visit the joint and both were sports related. First stop was the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory. The National Baseball League dictates that all bats used in the Major Leagues shall be made of wood - predominately Ash and Maple. Louisville Slugger has been churning out bats since baseball was invented and continues to be the major supplier to the "bigs". One interesting fact I found out, how do you know if a batter is a representative of the company (i.e. contracted), pretty simple, his signature appears on the bat via laser engraving.

A hop, skip & jump from the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory is the hallowed grounds of the Kentucky Derby racetrack - Churchill Downs. Actually it's only a 7 mile (11 kilometre) waltz South. I was told that on Kentucky Derby race day this year, there were 645,000 tickets sold on the day. Make Pioneer Park back in my hometown look like a bush race meeting with three 2 legged donkeys via for prize money. Today there were no races going round so I was able to wonder around at will.

A further 92 miles (148 kilometres) South of Louisville (Kentucky) is the Mammoth Caves National Park. I got told by one of the locals to go one way as it's the quickest way to go. The dumb shit didn't factor in that I have the Man Pad to think about as there was a ferry crossing at Green River. For the uninitiated on things Kentuckian. It's not the heat so much that gets to you, it's the constant 98% humidity that they don't tell you about.

Now I'd be the first to tell you that hot and wet is a great combination when you are with a woman. It is not such a good combination when you are a single male faced with a Park Ranger who's under the impression that he's under a foreign invader threat because "I did not see the sign pertaining to RV's 7 mile back up the road". Personally I think he's a major reason why the good folks of Kentucky are still making moonshine - so that they have an excuse for bringing their kin into the world.

While Billy John Boy was barking at me to "turn that rig around and comply with park regulations", I had a thought. I said to the lad that he can quote chapter & verse on the "regulations" 'til the cows come home and have me towed for non-compliance. In that case I would simply go at the carton of piss I had in the fridge while the tow truck get there. OR he could keep an eye out for traffic while I unhook and turn the whole show around on the two lane road.

Well you wouldn't have guessed it, the latter suggestion worked like a ball tearer. William (don't call him Billy) and I met up about an hour later after I traversed the hour long round trip to get past the ferry. The carton of piss has gone and US/Australian relationships have been restored.

Couldn't ask for a better result really.

Tomorrow I keep heading South.

TTFN