Moto GP in Austin TX
April 11th through the 16th
Led by Bill Flannery
A small group of SEAT riders enjoyed a fantastic ride/adventure to Austin, TX to attend the annual Moto GP races. Participants: Bill Flannery, Mike Shaffer, Sam Halgren and Mark Grosvenor. We took two days to get to Austin but enjoyed a more leisurely four-day ride back to Tucson after the races. A few highlights from each day of the ride:
Day 1: Tucson to Van Horn, TX (Thurs): We all met in Tucson and slabbed it to Van Horn, TX. We stopped along the way however for lunch at the VERY unique "Adobe Deli" in Deming. This is a rather crazy, wonderful bar/restaurant off the beaten path with excellent food. We stayed at the Motel 6 in Van Horn, TX that evening which is one of the nicer Motel 6 motels and the location worked out well for us (a short walk to dinner). Unfortunately, when we stopped for fuel in Van Horn before checking into the motel Bill noticed a nail in the front tire (a brand-new tire of course...) on his Yamaha FJR. He plugged the tire in the Motel 6 parking lot and decided he would ride the bike the next day to Austin, TX with the plug but then have a new tire installed while in Austin.
Day 2: Van Horn, TX to Austin, TX (Fri): Again, we slabbed our way to Austin but stopped along the way in Luckenbach, TX. A truly fascinating "town" (population of 3) with great/lively/fun filled energy and a stage with quality live music to enjoy. We checked into the local Motel 6 which is one of the worst Motel 6 motels we know of. It's conveniently located to the COTA track however and the BBQ restaurant next door to the Motel 6 however is fantastic for both breakfast and dinner. We'll research a different motel to stay at next year but still within walking distance of the BBQ restaurant.
Day 3 (Saturday): At the spectacular Circuit of the Americas (COTA) facility/raceway in Austin. We watched a Battle of the Baggers race in the morning and the all-important Moto GP Sprint race in the afternoon, along with several sessions of practice and qualifying for all three race classes of Moto GP (Moto 3, Moto 2 and Moto GP) throughout the day. We also enjoyed the opportunity to walk around the facility and visit all the factory manufacturers, vendor and souvenir tents/booths.
In the morning Bill bought a tire at Cycle Gear but their tire machine was broken so he was unable to pull the wheel off the bike in the parking lot and have the new tire installed. However, he found a nearby AWESOME independent motorcycle shop: "Milestone Motorcycles". Knowing Bill was from out of town and wanted to get to the track, the shop wheeled his bike into their shop as soon as he arrived and within 30 minutes had the wheel removed, the new tire mounted/balanced and the wheel re-installed. Absolutely wonderful fellow bikers indeed!
In the evening, we visited 6th St in downtown Austin (via UBER) which is filled with bars, great live music and people watching entertainment. The street is closed off to all vehicles on Saturday evenings, so the street is filled with folks bar hopping and enjoying themselves.
Day 4 (Sunday): The big day at the track for the races. All three of the major races were spectacular, and we witnessed something funny that nobody has ever seen before in motorcycle racing. It happened right in front of our seats during the Moto 3 race. Each year we reserve the very best seats at the facility and this year was no exception.
Day 5 (Monday): Austin to Marathon, TX. An uneventful ride with a fair amount of freeway. We stayed at the Marathon Motel and RV Park which is a wonderful place to stay. We enjoyed some great burgers grilled in the outside patio area for dinner.
Day 6 (Tues): Marathon to Fort Davis, TX: We enjoyed a thoroughly superb day of riding through "Big Bend Nat'l Park". We visited the Rio Grande Village viewpoint, Chisos Basin "Window View" viewpoint and the spectacular Saint Elena viewpoint. Unfortunately, the Rio Grande river level was low, but the canyon views are well worth the ride to each and every viewpoint in the park. We also really enjoyed the roller coaster of a ride on Rte 170 between Terlingua and Presidio. What a blast!
Relive Video of the day's ride: Relive 'Moto GP: Marathon to Fort Davis'
We stayed Tues evening at the Fort Davis Drugstore which is a wonderful place to stay in town and a great restaurant is directly across the street for dinner.
Day 7 (Wed): Fort Davis to Columbus, NM: We rode through the beautiful, serene Baldy Peak State Park and visited the impressive McDonald Observatory. We then visited the Prada store in Valentine, TX and the superb War Eagles Air Museum near El Paso. We had plenty of time to spend at the museum as we allotted several hours of time to thoroughly enjoy the museum. We stayed at the Los Milagros Hotel that evening which is an absolutely wonderful and very hospitable hotel to spend an evening. We met a fella from Switzerland, Ben who is on a USA bicycle and hiking tour who was also staying a the hotel. He originally flew from Switzerland to Miami then started his bicycle ride from Miami to San Diego! When he reaches San Diego, he plans to hike from San Diego to Canada! When we met him in Columbus, NM it was day 31 of his journey. Ben joined us for dinner at the excellent Borderland Cafe next to the hotel. We had some very interesting conversations of course over our burgers and beer.
Day 8 (Thurs): Columbus to Tucson area: We enjoyed the ride through Portal, Douglas, Bisbee and Sonoita back to the Tucson area. All returned home safe and sound and all had a great time on this ride/adventure.
The ride/adventure was a huge success and Bill plans to ride to the event again next year if anyone else from SEAT is interested in joining the ride.
Bill Flannery
Photos by Bill and Mark Grosvenor
