There are moments, when I’m riding a Harley, somewhere on the road in the US, that emotions gets the best of me, and I have a little moment, when tears well up in my eyes behind dark sunglasses. These moments are rare, and they are mostly triggered by circumstances, a nice stretch of road, and music. Maybe a little jetlag and fatigue helps as well, but for me riding the roads of USA on a motorbike was always a dream, and when those dreams come true, and you find yourself on that epic road trip, bikers do cry.

Hotel California, The Eagles

Highway 1, somewhere between San Francisco and Santa Cruz. Not sure what triggered this, but it was the first day of our first ride down Highway 1 and I was listening to some local radio station on my rented Harley Davidson. Hotel California by The Eagles came on, and some might say it’s a cheesy song, but right there and then it made me have a moment, just reflection on the situation and the awesomeness of the Pacific Coast Highway.

Comfortably Numb, Pink Floyd

Somewhere between Canyon De Chelly and Mexican Water on Highway 191 my iPhone shuffled its way to this gem of a song. When that solo, a masterstroke from David Gilmour, came on at full blast from the Harleys stereo, I had an emotional sob. I think it was just the grandness of the road winding between red buttes and the desert landscape that touched me in such big way.

Release, Pearl Jam

This is a favourite song of the both of us, a highly emotional song, not much to do with riding motorbikes, but its more the feeling of the whole song. Riding the winding roads south of Lake Powell, it was the start of a beautiful day, and emotions will run when you know that greatness lurks around every bend.

Boston, More Than A Feeling

The king of AOR songs, big chorus, big soundscape, this song came on the radio and out of the blue I had a little emotional breakdown. This was on the way into Sedona, and the ride there from Phoenix through the mountains had been epic.

So yes, this biker do cry sometimes, but for all the good reasons, the American highway adventure can be a powerful experience.