Origins

14,000 miles
54 Days
35 States
4 Provinces
2 Friends
1 Experience of a lifetime

Hello all, this is Paul here, the other rider on this grand adventure. Several years ago I was in a dusty outpost along the Tigris River in Iraq. One night, seemingly no different than many of the others, I was sitting in a cold cement guard tower. With the wind whistling through the windows and the blank almost alien landscape, I was alone with my thoughts. It made me realize that I was off in this foreign land, yet I had seen so little of the nation that I was serving. It was clear to me there, as I looked across the dark Arabian expanse that I needed to rectify the problem.

The decision was to embark on a long motorcycle journey across the United States once I had completed my service obligation. To share in the adventure, I invited my childhood friend Mike. With him soon to be married and me leaving the military, it seemed to be a fantastic "last hurrah" before we transition into new phases of our lives. We wanted to complete the trip on motorcycles because a bike captures the feeling of the land, climate, people, and yes even the smells of the area that you're riding through. You truly experience every mile of the journey. So now, much in the same way that Aborigines embark on walkabouts and wander the countryside for extended periods of time, Mike and I will embark on our rideabout to experience as much as we can of the nation that we call home. It will be the Great American Rideabout.

Along the way, we will be stopping to see things both weird and wonderful. Other areas of interest that we will make a point to visit are things relating to astronomy, aviation and the military. For the duration of the trip, we will be abiding by two major rules.
Rule #1: Avoid highways and interstates wherever possible.
Rule #2: Avoid national chain restaurants. The exception to this is if the location is significant, such as it being the first one.

Finally, we would like to thank our families and friends who have been so supportive and some who have even bent over backwards to help us realize this dream. Neither of us can wait to start this trip, and we look forward to sharing it with anybody that wants to follow along. I hope that perhaps it will inspire at least one other person to take charge of their life and experience the world that exists beyond their bubble of the day to day.

The adventure commences in 18 days.