Follow Us To The Coast & Beyond

Follow Us To The Coast & Beyond Follow Mike, Al, Brian & Brian on a two week motorcycle trip through the USA and Canada.

Day 7 took us from Augusta ME to Rutland VT. Just over 300 miles of nice mountain riding/scenery for most of the trip. T...
08/22/2025

Day 7 took us from Augusta ME to Rutland VT. Just over 300 miles of nice mountain riding/scenery for most of the trip.

The day started with temps in the low 50’s and we road most of the day with temps in the upper 60’s. Perfect conditions when wearing riding gear.

We passed through the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire and the Green Mountains in Vermont. Definitely not the high peaks of the Rocky Mountains but a very enjoyable ride on extremely smooth roads with wide paved shoulders. Couldn’t ask for a nicer ride.

As usual the evening ended with several games of cribbage. Al and Brian S. are definitely becoming proficient cribbage players.

Day 6 The forecast looked awfully wet for our final 120 mile ride to Houlton. We hit the road before the rain started an...
08/19/2025

Day 6 The forecast looked awfully wet for our final 120 mile ride to Houlton. We hit the road before the rain started and hoped for the best. We got lucky, the rain held off and we reached our destination and had time for a few photos without the rain gear.

We hopped on I95 south and headed for Augusta Maine where the rain wasn’t supposed to start until later in the afternoon. Traffic was light for most of the trip and we made good time, until we didn’t!

Traffic came to a crawl about 30 miles from Augusta. We sat in stop and go traffic for about 20 minutes. Just long enough for the rain to hit. The drops were huge and we were soaked before we had time to stop and put on our rain suits. Thankfully we were able to drive out of the rain and start to dry out before reaching our motel. This gave us an excuse to wash a few loads of laundry.

Overall it was a great day! Now we can say we have completed the Great Northern Road Trip, coast to coast on US 2.

Day 5 We left Bethal Maine with great weather once again. Made our way to Central Harley Davidson in Bangor Maine where...
08/19/2025

Day 5 We left Bethal Maine with great weather once again. Made our way to Central Harley Davidson in Bangor Maine where we stopped to stretch our legs and to check their air conditioning.

Central Harley is one of the more unique dealers as it’s built out of a remodeled barn. The staff was great as well.

We had a chance to speak to the owner who took our photo out front. As it turns out he is friends with Andrew at Northwoods Harley in Arbor Vitae. Some of us know Andrew very well. I guess it’s a small world.

We grabbed a late lunch after leaving the dealership and began searching for reservations in Houlton, our final destination. As it turned out the closest rooms available were in Bangor.

We stopped at Stephen Kings house in Bangor for a few photos and called it a day. We checked into our hotel and played some cribbage. We are mixing up partners this trip to keep things interesting.

We will reach our final destination at the east end of US 2 on day 6.

Day 3 We left North Bay Ontario Thursday morning with nice weather. Our day included several stops for road constructio...
08/16/2025

Day 3 We left North Bay Ontario Thursday morning with nice weather. Our day included several stops for road construction as we made our way to Prescott Ontario where we crossed back into the United States. We were all welcomed back into the Country with open arms, even Mike!

Our final destination for the day was the Mohawk Casino in Akwesasne New York. Our day ended with about 330 miles of nice riding. Not a lot of breathtaking views or photo opportunities, but it was a good day.

We enjoyed a good meal at the casino, one of us making a small donation to their cause and one of us walking away with $4.

Day 4 lead us back onto US 2 at Rouses Point New York on the western shore of Lake Champlain. US2 covers several of the islands on Lake Champlain before reaching mainland Vermont. What a unique area.

Our ride through Vermont and New Hampshire on our way to Bethel Maine was great. US 2 in this area has a lot of hills, twists and turns. Just a few miles of 55 MPH, otherwise the speed limit was mainly 40 or 50. There were many small towns with no more than 10 miles between them, often times fewer than 5 miles. Lots of great mountain scenery but no place to pull over for a photo. Our day ended with about 275 miles. It was a great ride.

The weather has been perfect, hopefully that continues for the rest of our trip. We are looking forward to reaching our destination in Houlton Maine on day 5.

Day 2. Started out the day at 67 degrees and a great ride up Interstate 75 to Sault Ste. Marie. Little traffic and anoth...
08/14/2025

Day 2. Started out the day at 67 degrees and a great ride up Interstate 75 to Sault Ste. Marie. Little traffic and another smooth highway.

Had the opportunity to spend a little extra time on the International Bridge due to road construction. Al took advantage of the photo opportunity while we were stopped.

Our trip across Canadian 17 to North Bay was filled with a lot of small towns and Canadian Wilderness. This along with a lot if sunshine made for an enjoyable ride.

Ended the days ride with 335 miles.

Thanks for riding along!

The trip from Ashland to St. Ignace MI was a great ride. Smooth roads and little traffic, definitely a rural highway. Th...
08/13/2025

The trip from Ashland to St. Ignace MI was a great ride. Smooth roads and little traffic, definitely a rural highway.

The white caps were rolling on Lake Michigan west of St. Ignace. With the gusty winds we decided not to ride the Mackinac Bridge. We ended the day with 421 miles.

You will notice that we have a new member joining us this year, Second Lieutenant Zachary Schmidt. Zach has a break from his service and is enjoying his first long distance trip.

Tomorrow we will head north and cross into Canada at Sault Ste. Marie and end our day in North Bay Ontario.

We are off. The trip to Ashland was a little cool but a great ride. Let the fun begin!!
08/12/2025

We are off. The trip to Ashland was a little cool but a great ride. Let the fun begin!!

08/11/2025

After having such a great trip from Ashland to the west coast on US Hwy 2 in 2023 we figured we may as well find out what the east half of US 2 has to offer.

Our East Coat adventure will start tomorrow, August 12th, at 7:00 am in Park Falls. We will ride US 2 from Ashland to Houlton Maine. There is a break in US 2 from the Mackinac Bridge to north east New York. We will be traveling through Ontario and Quebec to cover that distance.

Coast to Coast on US Highway 2. What a ride!

Stay tuned for regular updates.

The last 15 days presented a few challenges, but many more amazing experiences. They have also served as an opportunity ...
07/22/2023

The last 15 days presented a few challenges, but many more amazing experiences. They have also served as an opportunity to reflect on the last 30 years of working with and forming life long friendships with Mike, Al and Brian S. I couldn’t have asked for three better friends to share this experience with. Thank you guys!

The time spent around the cribbage board each evening gave us an opportunity to share our thoughts of the day. These are times I will never forget.

As I began planning this trip I spoke with a number of people who expressed an interest in hearing all about it. I thought starting this page would be a great way to share this experience with all of you. Hope you enjoyed it.

Many of you who followed us throughout this adventure have touched our lives in a positive way, either personally or professionally. Thank you for that!

I would also like to thank our four lovely wives who have supported us throughout our careers and gave us the opportunity to take this adventure. We could not have done any of it without you!

Life is short, don’t dwell on the negative that sometimes surrounds us. Look at what you’re blessed with and run with it!
-Brian R.-

First, I would like to start off with a huge thank you to Brian R. for hosting and setting up, coordinating and guiding ...
07/22/2023

First, I would like to start off with a huge thank you to Brian R. for hosting and setting up, coordinating and guiding this 15 day "Epic Adventure"! Your patience is without end! Secondly, I'd like to thank Michael for giving us his daily dose of reality throughout the course of this journey, which we appreciated. And thirdly, I would like to give a big shout out to Allen for his upbeat and optimistic, enthusiasm, and love that he would always grant us every day. Plus he is an excellent cribbage partner. Sometimes words cannot put in perspective these last 15 days if I could leave something that represented it as I tried to explain our last night would be how the four of us came together in the past 30+ years and how we move forward to this point in time and continue our friendship and brotherhood into the next phases of our lives. Which I truly value. Much love to my brothers Mike, Allen and Brian. B-BAM Always -Brian S.-

It was truly my pleasure riding the last 15 days with three outstanding friends. The camaraderie we share is priceless....
07/22/2023

It was truly my pleasure riding the last 15 days with three outstanding friends. The camaraderie we share is priceless. The landscape in the mountains and the plains were outstanding. I'm blessed to have been granted safe travels and now back with my lovely wife. Truly an Epic Adventure. -Allen-

Just spent the last 15 days traveling 4500 miles across the US and Canada with 3 of the finest men I know and am humbled...
07/22/2023

Just spent the last 15 days traveling 4500 miles across the US and Canada with 3 of the finest men I know and am humbled to be included in their ranks. Through high winds, scorching heat and a few heavy rains, including some lightning we rode on. We saw spectacular scenery. Wide open plains where it seemed you could see forever. Majestic mountain ranges with active glaciers and tourquoise colored glacial lakes. GOD'S creation is truly magnificent. Nightly cribbage games and sharing of and reminiscing about 3 plus decades of trials, terrors and triumphs having each other's back during our collective 130 years of protecting our community. How proud we are of our wives who've stood at our sides. How anxious and frightened they may have been as we saddled up and headed out the door not knowing if we'd return. The LORD has truly blessed us. My Nancy has been faithfully by my side and put up with and taken care of this "Cranky Old Bear" for going on 47 years. As we turn the final page ending this "Chasing (Going to) the Sun adventure, I look forward with great anticipation to the next short story adventure we share. You guys truly are my brothers and I love you all. Mike

Address

Phillips, WI
54555

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Follow Us To The Coast & Beyond posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category