making memories

“Let’s go rescue Max!” I exclaimed to Rob.
Rob Brooks is Road Dirt’s owner, editor, chief cook and bottle washer and I was in Rob’s living room, having flown from Washington State to his house outside of Atlanta, Georgia to ride Honda’s CB1000R Black Edition and Triumph’s lovely Speed Triple 1200RR. As I fed Rob’s dog Dez copious amounts of cookies under the table, Rob was using social media to track the progress of Max Flinders, MotoAmerica Superbike racer and all around good guy, whose tow rig puked transmission parts, stranding him in Alabama. Rob’s reaction to my suggestion was predictable.

Challenges to Memories

by Rob Brooks | Dec 13, 2021 | Ride Life, Rides & Roads | 1 |

My friend Mike Hinton is a fighter and a survivor. A retired career uniform police officer, a loving husband and father of three, and in recent years a jovial grandfather, Mike has faced many challenges in his life, each making him stronger and more resilient. A man of deep faith, with a great love of family, friends and travel, Mike knows the value of shared experiences with people you care deeply about. Currently battling an aggressive cancer, Mike has accepted the challenge and like every other occasion in his life, has endeavored to navigate it with faith, courage and resolve. An avid motorcyclist since his teen years, Mike has chronicled some amazing adventures in his life, and I’ve been privileged to share some of those with him. In his own words, “As young men, we seek out challenges in our lives then savor the victory of the conquered challenge. As we get older, we may still seek out challenges that fit our age and health, but the memories that we look back on and those that we still are creating are now more important than the challenges and their victories.”

Libby Accidentally

by Ted Edwards | Dec 8, 2021 | Ride Life, Rides & Roads | 8 |

Our plan was grand: my cousin and riding buddy Dave “White Girl” Wensveen and I would tour Yellowstone, Beartooth Pass and Glacier National Park in one giant sweep, gathering them all like kids plucking pastel eggs from the green grass on Easter morning. We crammed White Girl’s Dodge diesel pickup camper full of provisions, stowed our twin VFR800s in the trailer and pointed the Dodge’s hood east. Things went wrong as soon as we left the driveway.

The Zombie Ninja, Pt. 2

by Ted Edwards | Jun 10, 2021 | Ride Life, Rides & Roads | 7 |

Joining our squad of swift, veteran riders was my 16-year old son Matt, who earned his driver’s license and motorcycle endorsement simultaneously little more than a month before. A motorcycle I nicknamed the Zombie Ninja was his mount, a Kawasaki Ninja 500R that absorbed parts and money like a giant, sucking black hole of bottomless misery until it roared to life just days before departure. Before us lay the 30 miles of Canada’s 31A, technical tarmac where beauty reigns, crashes are frequent and speed is a punishable commodity.

Night Rider

by Rob Brooks | May 7, 2021 | Nuts & Bolts, Ride Life | 13 |

There is a group of motorcyclists in our area, known as the Night Riders, who enjoy carving up the country roads outside of town after sunset. I hear them many warm, spring-summer evenings, their sport bikes howling through the dark, engines revving, clicking up and down through the gears as they slice their way along the curvy blacktop that snakes around our north Georgia home. Sometimes I just stand outside and listen, trying to count how many there are, guessing which roads they are running- and occasionally, wishing I were riding with them.