Registration for the 2021 tour closed with over 1,200 registered riders. This registration count is far greater than I could have imagined when I was planning to put the tour together. Clearly, the idea of touring Texas appeals to a lot of motorcyclists.

The riders come from 338 different cities/towns. They come from towns that are scattered all over Texas, from Abilene to Wylie. There are too many Texas towns to list in this article. There are also registered riders from 15 out of state locations.

The riders from out of state come from:

In my planning for a September 11th event, I thought a dinner with one or more speakers of interest to motorcycle riders would be great. So, I'm arranging an opportunity for riders to have dinner at the YO Ranch Hotel on September 11th.

I asked the Texas A&M Transportation Institute if they could provide a motorcycle safety speaker. They offered an outstanding speaker - Jude Schexnyder. Jude is also a rider on the Motorcycle Grand Tour of Texas!

Mark your calendars. Plans for a Sept 11th weekend event in Kerrville are being developed. This event will benefit Veterans Assistance Dogs of Texas.

Events being considered are:

Stay tuned for info...

The Y.O. Ranch Hotel has set-aside a block of rooms at a special rate for the riders on the Motorcycle Grand Tour of Texas. The discount rate is good for nights of September 10th and 11th.

Register now, before they book up all the special rate rooms. Use the button below to book a reservation and get the discounted rate for the tour riders.

Do not just rely on the map on the website. Per the disclaimers on the webpage, do not consider the map to be accurate or complete. It is just a ballpark estimate.

Use the Tour Stops Page on the website to find the locations of the tour stops.

The Texas Sidecar Company tour stop is a little tricky to find - so see the guidance on the Tour Stops page.

Tour Stop # 44 is a mobile tour stop - so see the guidance on the Tour Stops page on how to find his trailer.

The Veterans Assistance Dogs of Texas (VA Dogs) tour stop location will be changing, as they are relocating their office. The webpage will be updated to reflect their new location (possibly two locations that you can choose from). Stay tuned for additional information on this update.

Tour stop 44 is the only mobile tour stop on the tour. Lone Star Rider's (Rex Covington) trailer is tour stop 44.

How do you find his trailer to take a picture with it? I will arrange a couple of dates for him to be at a specified location where you can find him. However, you can also find his location by going to his GPS tracking page. He carries a GPS tracker that updates about every 15 minutes. To go to his tracking page, click the button below. You can contact Rex via email at rexjc@mac.com.

Please do not reply to this newsletter email. Use the "Contact Tour Director" button, if you have a question. Thank you.

All tour flags (placards, bibs, etc.) have been mailed to the registered riders. It took several days of preparation and several days of taking stacks of mail to the post office to get them on their way to the tour riders. The last batch was mailed on March 5th.

My experience from last year's tour is that the postal service delivers some within a couple of days and some take three weeks. So, some registered riders might not receive their flags until the 4th week of March.

We shuffled the tour flags before preparing them for mailing, so couples may find that their numbers are not sequentially numbered. Be sure to write your name on the back of your tour flag so that it does not get mixed-up with someone else's flag (especially for folks riding two-up).

If you want an opportunity to win a prize, submit receipts (up to 3 per specified sponsor) during the tour.

In accordance with the rules for participation, receipts from specified tour sponsors earn additional points. The receipts must have been issued on or after March 15, 2021.

Be sure that the name of the sponsor or non-profit, date of purchase, and amount of purchase/donation is visible on the pictures of receipts that you submit. Write your flag number on the receipts. A couple may split a receipt for lodging or food by writing both of their flag numbers on the receipt. The split receipt needs to be uploaded twice (once for each participant).

BONUS POINTS – For five (5) bonus points, take one picture of your bike at a tour stop with your tour flag and a copy of Ride Texas magazine. You pick the tour stop location, but only submit one picture. Submitting multiple pictures with the magazine in the picture will not increase the bonus points – just send one. For a list of where you can get an issue of Ride Texas magazine, see this link.

To make donations to Lone Star Rider's Fund Raising page for the American Diabetes Association (ADA), submit a picture of the receipt you receive via email from the ADA. When you fill-out the on-line donation form, put your name in the "name recognition box" and in the personal note box, enter a note to state that you are participating in the Motorcycle Grand Tour of Texas.

Moto Liberty is one of the great sponsors of the Motorcycle Grand Tour of Texas.  

You do not have to have make a stop at Moto Liberty to be in the drawing.  I will provide the owner of Motor Liberty with the flag numbers of all of the registered riders.  She will then draw from those numbers to select the winner.  After she selects the winning flag number, I’ll provide her with the name and contact information for the number drawn. The drawing will take place in the store.

The idea and funding of this drawing was originated by the owner of Moto Liberty. Thank you Audrey for being such a great supporter of the tour!

Be sure to write your name on the back of your tour flag. You do not want to get your tour flag mixed-up with someone else's flag.

For pictures at tour stop, attach your tour flag to your windshield. Folks that place it on the side or back of their bikes tend to forget it is there and lose their flag when they take off from a tour stop. If you lose your tour flag, contact me. A replacement will cost $3.50.

I recommend using a small clamp with a rubber tip (so it won't scratch your windshield), like the one pictured below. They are inexpensive and readily available at Home Depot, Lowe's, etc.

Visit the Tour Shop and checkout the great tour gear we have to offer. The line has been expanded and more sizes are now available.

I like to take my bike out to a large parking lot and practice my skills several times a year.

Practicing u-turns, swerving, figure 8s, etc. can keep your skills sharp and just may save you in a unexpected road incident.

I cut tennis balls in half with a hack saw and use them to layout my practice areas. You can also buy plastic cones.

I have found that the Goldwing Road Riders Association has a very good practice guide that you can download, for free, as a pdf file.