FosTerH0ME Adventures

The trip to Circuit of the Americas Moto GP race was awesome! 1800 miles ridden and although almost half was about 40 degrees cooler than I would have preferred, it was an amazing time.

It began with camping at Little Sahara State Park in Oklahoma. This was a nice park but the sand made quite a mess when it came time to pack up and leave. I would camp there again but maybe not on a bike trip. I took the roads less traveled (back roads) all the way to my parent’s house outside Paint Rock, Texas. I spent the remainder of the day catching up and taking it easy.

The following morning, I rode down to San Antonio and enjoyed a beautiful twisty ride through the Texas Hill Country just southwest of Austin. It was a nice ride to a wonderful lunch at my Grandparents house. After a few hours of catching up and enjoying a magnificent meal it was time to give our hugs and say goodbye. It was off to my other Grandparents then. We spent a few wonderful hours catching up and topped it off with a delightful meal at Mamacita’s Mexican Restaurant. Unfortunately, all must things must come to an end and it was time to head north, back to Paint Rock. It was marvelous to see all of my grandparents and the ride home through the dense deer population of central Texas provided many hours to reflect on just how nice it had been to see them and catch up.

The next day was spent playing on my parents vast expanse of land. Some shooting, some hiking, some chores with Dad, and some towing to enjoy the time until Chris and Jessie show up. Oh, I suppose you want to know what towing is. Well, that is where you get very excited about driving your parent’s Razor and go out with your mom for a ride. In order to participate properly in the sport, you must go to the furthest point on the land. Then, turn off the engine while your passenger looks at something on the side of the rode. Make sure you have an old battery that will not start the Razor, and TADAA! You now having towing. It was a short “drive” but a long “tow”. It is always an adventure though. Jessie and Chris showed up in the evening and it was off to the races…the following morning. We spent the evening planning the coming days and discussing our excitement.

The next morning we arrived at the Circuit of the Americas!! It was an amazing couple of days of vendors, family fun, and racing! We were seated at about turn 3 but we watch the free practice and qualifying from a variety of locations on the track. Our spot was a nice spot to watch the race and we were witness to Crutchlow’s crash coming out of turn two. It looked much worse than it was. I have seen a few crashes in person but the speed, sparks, and sound combined to make quite the sceen. Luckily he was ok and the race as a whole was a wonderful experience. After the race on Sunday, we walked the track with many other fans and got to see the pit lane area and various paddocks. It was a nice chance for some good photos together. At last though, it was time to go.

We topped off the day with some Whataburger on the way back to Paint Rock. What a meal it was too! Mmmmmmm delicious! The journey was spent mostly planning the following day’s travel plans. I had a long ride to get home Monday and there was snow forecasted for the Kansas City area. Luckily I woke up early and hit the rode at 6:30am. Despite much conversation and worrying preceding my departure on the V-strom, I did not see any snow or rain. The “weather guessers” were wrong again luckily! It was a very cold ride home though and terribly exciting. I took the short fast route in an effort to beat the forecasted weather and as a result was on 35 north for much of the journey. The Flint Hills were beautiful though and were quite the sight to see. It was a quick 800 miles home and the trip was over. Another state checked off the list and some great time with family.