What we're thankful for in 2024

Every ride tells a different story, so as we do every year, we asked a few Common Tread regulars to share what they're thankful for in motorcycling this year. We got a range of answers, and here they are in their own words.

Dustin Wheelen: Stepping out of my comfort zone

Nothing breeds fear quite like a traumatic event. That's how I'd sum up my first ride off-road. One incredibly steep hill, one underpowered Honda CRF250L, and a whole lotta sand will do that to you. If I wasn't tumbling downhill, I was picking the bike up against it. (Please, don't make me relive every detail.) That one incident colored my opinion of dirt riding ever since. That is, until this year.

No fear disappears on its own. Sometimes, controlled and repeated exposure to the source of that fear helps people overcome it. At least that was the case for me. My exposure therapy came in the form of ADV training courses with Sedlak Offroad School and Jeff Stanton's Adventures. Before, I avoided the dirt like an agoraphobe avoids crowds. Now, I relish the challenge of off-road riding. I can only say that because I stepped out of my comfort zone. If you ask me, that's a small price to pay for banishing fear.

Ari Henning: A very personal video project never to be forgotten

We don't like to let upcoming CTXP ideas out of the bag, but when I consider what I'm thankful for this year, an episode we shot in early October (that will air in February 2025) eclipses everything else I can think of.

You'll have to wait for the details, but the project was something I have felt compelled to do for years, but couldn't find the resources (time or money) to make it happen. And then the CTXP team — and many others — rallied around the idea, and we pulled off something that was incredibly difficult, truly amazing, and deeply meaningful to me.

So I'm not just thankful for the opportunity to have tackled and documented the project, I'm also thankful for colleagues and friends who are willing to go all-in and invest their time and effort in what they believe in. Thanks, guys.

Spurgeon Dunbar: Support for a new family, and still some dirt bike time

It's been a very busy year in my personal life as my wife, Nicole, and I welcomed our son and first child into the world. As it turns out, he's a demanding little bastard and has required a lot of my time and energy (not to mention Nicole's…). I'd like to take a minute to thank all of my family, friends, and coworkers who have helped me make it through this past year with my sanity intact. From an impromptu "Baby Moon" dirt-bike trip before the kid showed up, to all of the support covering my workload while I was away from my desk, to babysitting help, to the leadership team at RevZilla, which provides us with paternity leave that allowed me uninterrupted time with my new family, I am overflowing with gratitude and joy. Most of all I am thankful for my loving wife, who not only provided me with an arguably cute kid but who continues to support my goals and aspirations (and travel habits) with motorcycles and my career.

Patrick Garvin: Wrenching and building as a creative outlet

It sounds a bit odd, but as I thought and reflected on 2024 I came to the conclusion that I'm thankful for being able to work on my own motorcycles. It's not some talent that I was born with. In high school, I wasn't mechanically inclined at all, but buying my first motorcycle in my early 20s forced a wrench into my hands for monetary reasons. Since then, I worked at building my skills for many years, making plenty of mistakes along the way. It has paid off in many ways over the years. It has allowed me to be able to upgrade my machines without the added expense of paying dealership labor prices and has saved my ass (and the asses of my friends) via roadside repairs on many road trips.

But my favorite side effect of constantly advancing my mechanical skillset over the years is that it has given me a creative outlet. Creative outlets generally pop into your mind in the form of a painter, sculptor, or some traditional artist, but I express my creativity — as odd as it may sound — by building motorcycles. I have reached the point where I can get an idea or vision in my head and physically make the motorcycle into exactly what I had in mind. If you asked me to draw a picture of it, you would get a toddler's rendition of a bike, but ask me to build it for real, and it's no problem. It's a very gratifying experience and one I'm grateful for.

The best part is that anybody can build that same skillset and have the same creative freedom. Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty and start turning a few wrenches. You'll be glad you did.

Zack Courts: Ridiculous, wonderful, terrifying superbikes still exist

According to my local car dealerships, 'tis the season of abundance, and with that in mind I have a simple gratitude this year: I am thankful that superbikes are still super. We take it for granted that every year motorcycle companies will whip the cover off some rocket-shaped monstrosity that makes 300 horsepower and is made out of materials that only a few people can pronounce. This year it was Ducati's turn to steal my attention, with its shiny new winged Panigale V4.

Each brand has its own reasons for making these bikes, but let's not forget that with every wave of new machines there's an undercurrent of uncertainty about how much longer they will last. Suzuki and Kawasaki have long quit MotoGP, Yamaha's YZF-R1 seems to be losing steam, and until recently KTM was notably disinterested in full-size sport bikes. And so I find some juvenile joy in seeing new super-duper-bikes hitting showroom floors.

Every time I ride one on the street, I talk about how it's frightening, or uncomfortable, or makes me feel silly. When I ride the new Pani V4 on the street it'll be some combination of those three, and I don't care. I love the extreme nature of them, and I think all motorcycles benefit from having their own Mount Olympus to gaze upon and spawn dreams. No rider truly needs one of these bikes, but as a culture we're better for having them around.