A few days ago, the registration count reached 1,000 registrations! That is a far cry from my expectations when I started the tour.

When I was planning to create the tour, my expectation was to get about 150 to 200 registrations and largely handle the tour via email. Well, I had to scramble last year (1st year of the tour), when it became apparent that registrations would be much higher. There was no way that email alone would work.

Keeping track of the picture submissions required software. Communicating with all the riders simultaneously surpassed the limits of email, so I now use constant contact to publish this newsletter.

Y'all are keeping me very busy, but that is a good thing. I'm keeping my Excel and webpage skills up to date since I retired from my job.

I enjoyed riding on tours the in past. Now, I'm enjoying hosting a tour and riding out to find new locations for future tour years.

Registration will close at the end of this month.

After registration closes, the list of tour riders will be finalized.

Tour flags (placards) will be mailed-out during the second week of March.

The Picture Submission Portal (PSP) will open on March 15, 2021. It will close on November 15, 2021.

If you have not registered yet, use the button below to register. Feel free to forward this newsletter to folks you think would enjoy taking part in the 2021 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 is providing a special rate for the riders on the Motorcycle Grand Tour of Texas. The discount rate is good for September 10th and 11th.

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

The owners of the Shepard Family Cafe are motorcycle riders. They are pictured above in front of their cafe. They are located at 110 E. Russell Avenue, Bonham, TX 75418.

While not a tour sponsor on this year's tour, they are still offering a great incentive to the 2021 tour riders. During the 2021 tour, if you take your tour flag into their cafe, they will give you a free drink or desert!

The cafe was created by a family of bikers in 2018, from Hondas to Harleys! You will be treated like family, and served more food than most people can finish. As you walk in, you take in the vibe of an old school Mom & Pop Diner, with 50's music jamming.

I'm looking forward to riding up to their cafe myself and trying their chicken fried steak. I suspect that they will be a sponsor next year...

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.

There is a Google Map on the website. You can see the tour stops by clicking the pins on the map. You should also be able to save the map for your own route planning. To research each stop, go to the Tour Stops page.

2020 Tour Rider 156 at the "Big People" tour stop

2020 Tour Rider 138 at the Geographic Center of Texas marker.

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!

2020 Tour Rider 427 at the Stephen F. Austin Statue.

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.

As those of you who rode on the tour last year can see, we have some great new tour sponsors for the 2021 tour. I look forward to seeing your pictures at the sponsors locations this year.

I can even announce one new tour sponsor for the 2022 tour year. If you ride the tour in 2022, you can look forward to stopping at the Big Bend Biker Hotel (which includes Old Gringo Coffee & Cocktails). It will provide another great reason to ride out to Big Bend National Park.

Big Bend Biker Hotel / Old Gringo Coffee & Cocktails