There is a wide variety of bikes on the tour. Included among them are scooters. Three of the scooter riders are Bobby McCury (flag 1049), Steve Brown (flag 569), and Ralph Gill (flag 1106). Bobby and Steve are from San Antonio. Ralph is from New Braunfels. They are pictured at tour stop 14 (Alamo BMW).

They ride as part of a group named "Texas Road Rats." Their group has a Facebook page -

Facebook.com/groups/TxRoadRats. Their group's primary focus is long distance, highway rides throughout Texas and neighboring states. However, they occasionally sponsor and participate in shorter range events with San Antonio's other scooter clubs.

They stress safety and mutual support during their rides. While the three of them ride BMW C650GTs, others in their group ride a variety of scooters.

Bobby, Steve, and Ralph hope to be the first scooter group to make it to all 50 tour stops in the Motorcycle Grand Tour of Texas.

On September 11, 2021, you can get credit for tour stop 10 (Y.O. Ranch Hotel). Lone Star Rider (Mobile Tour Stop 44) plans to be there, so you can get credit for that stop as well. Of course, there are other tour stops within an hour or two of Kerrville (location of the Y.O. Ranch Hotel) that you could get on your way to Kerrville.

To benefit the Veterans Assistance Dogs of Texas (VA Dogs), we will host a motorcycle event that will be open to all motorcycle riders.

I have been collaborating with VA Dogs to plan this event. It will not be limited to riders on the Motorcycle Grand Tour of Texas. So, be sure to encourage your rider friends, who are not on the tour, to take part in this September 11th event.

We are calling the event "Run with the Big Dogs." With a $25 event registration (donation), you will receive an event t-shirt (pictured below).

All of the registration income will go to this great non-profit organization. VA Dogs provides trained service dogs to assist the lives of disabled Veterans across the state of Texas. A registration website will be established soon.

A bike blessing will be performed the Alamo Apostles Chapter of the Christian Motorcycle Association in the Y.O. Ranch Hotel parking lot.

The American Legion Riders (ALR) from Post 208 will lead rides from the Y.O. Ranch Hotel to the Bent Rim Grill / Frio Canyon Motorcycle Stop (tour stop 23 for the tour riders). The ride will take you on some great twisty roads in the Hill Country.

At the Y.O. Ranch Hotel, raffles will be conducted and vendors will be on-site.

We are planning to have an optional dinner at the Y.O. Hotel. The dinner will include an outstanding speaker on Motorcycle Safety.

If you know of vendors that may want to participate in the event or if you have a product you want to donate for the raffles, please let me know via the contact "contact tour director" button.

The discount rate is good for nights of September 10th and 11th.

Register now, at the discounted rate, before they book-up the remaining rooms established at the special rate room.

Use the button below to book a reservation and get the discounted rate for the tour riders.

Rider 89 (Dwight) at Kerrville National Cemetery. Please remember, this cemetery is the replacement stop for Stop 40.

Texas summers are hot! Be sure to take water with you on your bike trips. A stainless steel water bottle is now available in the tour stop. More stickers are in stock also.

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

Lone Star Rider has a new bike (2008 Honda Gold Wing) and is back on the road. He will be at tour stop 19 (Hill Country Motorheads Motorcycle Museum) on July 10, 2021. So, reserve that date to come down Burnet, TX and get credit for his mobile tour stop (44) and credit for the Motorheads Museum tour stop.

We will conduct a raffle and may that may include an optional lunch ride, as a fund raiser for the American Diabetes Association (in memory of Lone Star Rider's son).

More info on this event will be published in the July 1st edition of this newsletter.

With over 1,250 riders on this year's tour, scrolling down the list of riders on the tour riders' page was a bit of a hassle for riders with a high tour flag number.

The page has been modified to now include a search box. You can now search by flag number or name. The new format will enable you to see the specific tour stops that have been credited to you (as of the last review date). Please watch the short video to see how to search on the updated Riders' Page.

Click image above to play video.

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. Be sure to write your flag number on receipts you submit. If a receipt is to be split by a couple (hotel, food), write both of your flag numbers on the receipt. The split receipt will need 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. The Ride Texas bonus points selection is right after stop 50 on the drop-down selector in the picture portal. For a list of where you can get an issue of Ride Texas magazine, see this link.

American Diabetes Association (Lone Star Rider's Mission)

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.

Rider 238 (Mike) at the La Salle Monument

Riders who make 25 or more of the stops are considered tour finishers and receive a patch identifying them as Tour Finishers.

However, there are always some riders who make it to all 50 tour stops! Those riders are recognized here and will receive a patch indicating that they are 50 Stop Tour Finishers.

If you have made 50 tour stops and I have not yet updated your record, please contact me so I can review your pictures out of sequence.

Here is the list of those who have made all 50 tour stops (as of June 13, 2021):

Rider 245 (Tom) at the signature board at tour stop 22. Be sure to sign the board when you get to Antelope Creek Leather.