Harley Davidson Motorcycles 2

The way to Tombstone, AZ can feel like a wagon trail that happens to be paved. Passing through small, dusty towns that aren’t much more than stage coach stops, a place to get some grub, put up your boots, feed your steel horse and get back on the trail. For those of us who watched too many westerns, this is the way of the west. Whether you’re pushing cattle, prospecting for precious metals, running from the law, endlessly searching for a homestead or riding to the next cold beer, we are always trying to get somewhere else. Just passing through, gone before the dust settles. The West is less a place and more a state of mind. It embodies wanderlust, adventure, independence. Not much more needed than our ride, big black boots, and shoulders covered in well-worn leather. It is freedom. And for three days and nights in the third weekend of October for the last 96 years, it is Helldorado Days.

Chasing Curves and Carolina Sky: Part 2

by Phil Gauthier | Nov 6, 2025 | Rides & Roads | 0 |

Day Two of our “Mild Hawgs” road trip broke with the sound of rain easing off the hotel roof and the aroma of coffee wafting from the lobby. Over breakfast, the group circled up, hashing out the day’s route. Word was “The Snake” (Hwy 421 outside Bristol) was still scarred from last year’s floods, and the forecast called for scattered showers late morning. With that in mind, we shifted gears, literally and figuratively, deciding to head west and south, jump on I-26, and pick up the Blue Ridge Parkway south of Asheville. A couple of us pulled on rain gear, just in case, while the others trusted the weather gods and Nate, our default road captain, to lead the way.

Chasing Curves and Carolina Sky: Part 1

by Phil Gauthier | Oct 27, 2025 | Ride Life, Rides & Roads | 0 |

There’s something about rolling north for me, on a crisp fall morning that feels like a promise — that blend of fuel, freedom, and just enough chill in the air to remind you the mountains are calling. Weeks earlier Nate had called to set up a three day ride which included his son Adam and cousin Greg – the four of us were ready. The sun was just burning off the early morning fog when the bikes fired up, that familiar rumble echoing off the quiet Main Street. We had all been itching to carve some high country asphalt, and the route ahead would deliver in spades: Heads down takes us up Hwy. 441 at speed up to Clayton, Georgia. Quick fuel check and we are off: Warwoman Road, Highway 28, Sapphire Valley, Lake Toxaway, Waynesville, Lake Junaluska, and the legendary NC 209 — better known as The Rattler – Day one.

Phil’s Op-Ed: Breaking Down Barriers to the Ride Life

by Phil Gauthier | Aug 26, 2025 | Ride Life | 0 |

At Road Dirt we talk, write about and live the “Ride Life”. It’s more than a slogan, it’s a way of life for us. We believe riding unencumbered by seatbelts & cages lets the soul truly experience travel in a special way. We love sharing how beautiful riding a motorcycle can be by soaking in the sun and wind and aromas you just can’t experience in a car (cage for those in the know). We hope that our stories will motivate people, young and old, to consider buying a motorbike and joining the riding community to experience the joys we all do on two.

What Bikers Wish Every Driver Knew

by Rob Brooks | Apr 18, 2025 | Ride Life | 0 |

While most of the time I feel like “cagers” (biker slang for automobile drivers) are aware of and largely respect us on the roads, it’s a sad fact that too many motorists don’t give us the margin and consideration that we deserve. We are often viewed as a traffic nuisance at the very least, and at worst are considered outlaw biker gang types or irresponsible stunters. Newsflash: While those elements do exist, the overwhelming majority of us riders are law-abiding citizens, with families and jobs, like our fellow “cagers.” Conversely, all too often we riders regard our fellow motorists as inattentive, distracted adversaries, who crowd us out and cut us off on the roads, with no consideration for our rights or well-being. Of course, we know that’s a generalization as well, aware that most motorists aren’t trying to kill us.
They are pretty distracted nowadays, however.