With the Holiday Season approaching, I had an opportunity to reflect on Harley-Davidson and the friendships that it brings. It happened one night after I traveled to the LA area. The experience made me appreciate all the much more my friends in the Harley community. It’s difficult to describe the events that brought me closer to my riding counterparts, but here is my attempt.

During this recent trip to the LA area, I was awestruck by the sheer number of people I encountered. On the walk to my connection in Denver, which was a good 15-minutes, I passed thousands of people rushing up and down the concourse. Once I arrived in LAX, I was again struck by the thousands at the terminal. And, there was more to come as I headed out and onto the freeways.

At one point, after dark, while exiting the 405, the exit flyover climbed up and over the freeway, allowing a clear view of the freeway below. The northbound car headlights were blinding and stretched for miles and miles, bumper to bumper. And, the adjacent southbound lanes presented a stream of red taillights for a far as the eye could see. Again, thousands of people in cars, either going or coming.

While this was not surprising to me, the solitude of being alone amongst the hordes of people caused some reflection. I felt very alone. Each face I saw, in the airports and on the planes, was different. And, they literally numbered in the thousands. I imagined the people in their cars on the freeway, too. While many were solitary drivers, many had multiple people inside. Each of these thousands of people has a personal story to tell. They have family, a spouse, children, mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles – lives with sad passages and happy memories. So many questions went through my mind. Where did they grow-up, go to school? What is their neighborhood like? Where are they going?

It was at this point in my pondering that I considered the solitary insignificance I felt being just one among the thousands. The immensity of the universe struck me. Where have I been for these years of my existence? Then, it hit me, and I remembered – I’m a Harley rider! I have a group of friends that share the same enthusiasm for the two-wheeled experience. This is where I know, with certainty, that friendships grow - I do know people and they know me. I am not alone - we are not alone. As I remembered this, I suddenly felt total relief. I knew where I belonged.

I know where I’ve been, and know where I’m going. As I moved though the crowded airports and along the freeways on the return trip, I didn’t feel alone because I knew Harley-Davidson, and all that it brings, was with me. To paraphrase what Fitzgerald wrote in The Great Gatsby – Tomorrow I will run faster, stretch out my arms farther….

And one fine morning I’ll be with my Harley-Davidson friends, again. It’s a lifelong kinship, and it binds us together no matter what we do in life, or where we’ve been, or where we are going.

Wishing you a most Happy Harley Holiday Season.