My Hosts

Biking down the highway towards Xpujil I ran into a bunch of motorcyclists.  A photo lead to some beers which lead to a place to set my tent up for the night.  I originally thought I was camping in...

In Linda Vista I was coaxed off the road by locals for a beer.  It didn’t take long for me to lose count of the number of beers that I ended up having.  Good thing the owner of the bar said I could...

On November 4th Luis Antonio pulled his vehicle over.  His English was probably the best English that I had heard in Mexico thanks to his 20 some odd years in the US.  He noticed my Canadian flag...

Eduardo was a lucky host for me from Ixtlahuaca near the pyramids in San Juan Teotihuacan which I had planned to visit before arriving in Mexico City. Eduardo became a host thanks to a chance...

While in Vicente Guerrero I was messaged by someone interested in hosting me in Aguascalientes. The next day I received a message from Mario about hosting me in the same city.  I replied to Mario...

On September 17th I woke up to a message from my Aunt Henny that Iohan Gueorguiev was dead.  Iohan was the bike tourer/bikepacker that inspired me that biking through a Canadian winter was...

Through a random stop at a Fresnillo bike shop called Rocha bike shop I was found a host upon my arrival in Zacatecas.  Paty would be able to offer me an empty lower floor apartment.  There was so...

While in Zacatecas I met another cyclist named Elton.  You can read about our meeting HERE. We would find ourselves at a restaurant called La Leyenda.  The restaurant was filled with trinkets and...

Thanks to my host in Torreon Ricardo Mendoza I had a chance meeting with the Manuel Zeek the owner of Zeek GPS.  We hit it off pretty good and he was willing to help my bike ride by providing me...

While exploring Zacatecas I would return to Catedral Basílica de Zacatecas twice for photos.  There was too much sunshine coming through the stained glass window in the morning.  During my second...

On September 7 as I was preparing to leave Fresnillo I snapped a bolt on my crank.  There was a bike shop less than 2 km's from the fire station that was hosting me.  The bike shop was owned and run...

Arriving in Fresnillo I was not sure what to expect. I was told that the local mountain bike group would be notified of my arrival but what happen was way cooler. Whenever I arrive in a Mexican city...

Upon arriving in Fresnillo I was quickly recognized by Horacio Velazquez who would call the city mayor about accommodations for me.  The mayor would send the city fire chief that would escort me to...

Victor was a really nice humble guy who really wanted to make sure I was taken care of in Sombrerete.  Victor was a flag car that drove over 20 km's behind me into the city of Sombrerete on...

Claudia is a member of the local bike group and hosted me my last evening in Sombrerete.  Her daughter Areli and her family also live in the house.  Areli and Juan along with Roman joined for the...

Channa Ayala of Sombrerete was determined to make sure I had a great time in Sombrerete.  She fed many times at her restaurant.  She is also a member of the mountain group that invited me to bike to...

I first met Roman biking into Sombrerete.  Roman was driving a flag truck behind me.  The next day Roman gave me a 3 hour, 19 km bike ride tour around the city.  Later that afternoon we joined other...

Arriving into the downtown center of Sombrerete within seconds there was a guy from Sombrerete al Dia News Company interviewing me on Facebook Live and within moments the Municipal Presidencia (I am...

Arriving in Vicente Guerrero Ben introduced himself very quickly and offered his place as long as I wanted to stay in VG which ultimately would be 7 nights at his place.  Ben would also create a...

Ariel received me and the NOPAL mountain bike group that biked 90 km's with me to Vicente Guerrero.  Ariel owns the local bike shop in town and also sells the Sunpeed brand of bikes hence the...

Thanks to meeting Adrian Ibarra & his girlfriend Dalia Aguirre in Durango and discovering a shifting cable on the verge of snapping Adrian made arrangements to have my bike fixed at Sunpeed. ...

I met Dalia and Adrian because Dalia spotted me biking into Durango and waved me down.  I would never have guessed such a random meeting would lead to so much excitement. Because of a bike issue...

Thanks to my chance meeting of Adrian Ibarra & his girlfriend Dalia Aguirre who also happened to be members of the NOPAL Mountain Bike Club in Durango.  After Adrian making arrangements to have...

With Ali & Diego (Monica was unavailable) The day before arriving in Durango I reached out to a Mexican bike group on WhatsApp called RACmex General.  I asked if there was anyone out there that...

Roger is the brother of my Torreon host - Ricardo.  I would end up spending a lot of time with Roger most afternoons during my 9 days in Torreon.  Roger has a coffee roasting company with ambitions...

By chance encounter I met Ricardo at the main viewing ares of Copper Canyon on July 11.  He was at the canyon helping some new cafe owners on their opening day of a cafe that can be found inside the...

On my way to Jimenez some guys called me over off the road.  I was quickly offered a beer.  There was on guy who spoke a small amount of English.  Through the conversations Raul who did not speak...

My Creel host Luis Pacheco Vazquez is friends with Marquito (Marco) through the mutual love of bike touring.  After having some hotel issues in Chihuahua Luis connected me with these guys.  This...

Coming back to Creel from an afternoon of biking and hiking at San Ignacio I biked past Luis selling his jewellery at his little table on the main drag of Creel.  Luis quickly waved me over.  Luis...

I met Mario Munoz of Rancho San Isidro Lodge shortly after arriving in Cerocahui who stopped to ask me where I was going.  I said I was looking for some lookout that was supposed to out this way. ...

Through a young couple on a motorcycle who stopped to met me a week earlier I thought I had a host in La Paz, but last minute that offer fell through.  I reached out to David Jajan literally last...

Dave and Jana Knowles of Moab, UT hosted for 6 nights in total.  They hosted me when I arrived in Moab and then I took off for 6 nights to visit Canyonlands, NP, Dead Horse Point SP and Arches NP. ...

Coming into Zion National Park in Utah I wasn't sure where I would be camping for the night.  Upon arrival very quickly I realized stealth camping was going to be near impossible and the campground...

Matt & Stephanie Hoag of St George Utah.  Matt and Stephanie became hosts for me through long time ride follower Patrick Sisk who is also friends with ride follower Perry Stone.  Matt &...

Gen has been following my ride from the very beginning.  He kept bugging me when I was going to arrive in LA.  Funny thing was I originally had no plans to arrive bike in or to LA.  But after I saw...

Paul Aschenbrenner and his 1978 Volkswagen van named Kermit just outside Castorville (which turns out to be the Artichoke Center of the World). Every Tuesday from 10:30 until 2:30 for the last 8...

Thanks to my media guy Matt Butterman I was able to have use of an empty apartment in Berkeley from December 19 to 25.  Due to the Covid situation and students not in school it has left many...

I reached to Jim via Warmshowers because I didn’t know what else do in such a big city as San Francisco during these Covid times. Jim also turned out to be a professional bike mechanic. We (mostly...

I came by the Rigby's thanks to my aunt Cynthia who use to live in Brooks Oregon a few years back.  It is hard to express how amazing it feels and the morel boost one gets from getting out of the...

I knew Jake originally as a Voortman Cookie distributor when I drove a truck (before this bike ride).  I probably delivered to Jake 7-8 times over the years.  Jake had a lot to do with my Oregon...

Through my friend Jake Volz who I use to deliver Voortman Cookies to in a truck to McMinnville back when I was a truck driver happened to have an aunt living in the town Nehalem where I camped the...

On my way out of Aberdeen WA Derush Obed (essential one & servant in Hebrew) pulled over and mentioned that he was a Warm Showers host and if I wanted a warm bed in Raymond there would be one...

I have a long history with Bob.  Bob was my landlord when I owned and ran The Reptile Store in Hamilton ON between 1999 and 2002.  And then years later they moved to Vancouver.  When I completed my...

Kane has been following my ride from way back and is a fellow cycle tourer.  He has biked to Japan, Korea and across Canada.  Me and Kane got along very well had many many conversations about life...

A super huge thank to the people at Patagonia Victoria for the very generous gift of a new Patagonia rain jacket and rain pants to help keep me dry as I pedal along the west coast of North America....

Nicolas came biking up to me in Victoria after I had just finished photographing my first views of Victoria.  He right away asked me if I needed a host because I could stay with him.  I was actually...

Do you remember Pascal from March 5?  Pascal had been following my ride and when I arrived in Montreal he reached out and took me on a 4 hour walking tour of the downtown of Montreal.  Pascal is...

Mark & Natasha run the campground for Wya Point Surf Shop. When Mark heard that I had just biked across Canada he insisted that I stay for free as long as I wanted and fed me supper (twice)....

Would you believe this family was my only host on my first bike ride when I biked through Grande Prairie AB in 2011. (They have since moved to Vancouver Island). In Grand Prairie they were hosts...

You might recognize Chris's photo from earlier this summer.  Chris and his friend Anthony recognized me in Jasper when they notice my latest Strava app update told them I was in Jasper.   You can...

I enjoyed meeting Fatima Sumar and John Leung from The Healthy Way Vibes at Breka Bakery & Cafe Earlier in the week was a guest on their show and had a great time.  Fatima was eager to meet me...

Patty had the honor of being my 50th host crossing Canada by bicycle. The next morning Patty took me on a bit of a road tour around White Rock and to Canada‘s longest pier. We checked out the...

Graeme & Joel in the back.  Charis, Brooklin the dog, Karen and Hannah in the front Graeme was from back home in Ontario from the church I attended as a teenager. Graeme very unexpectedly...

I had been following this guy on Facebook thanks to a previous host Alasdair Veitch.  While I was in Vancouver I realized Andy only lived about 30 km's away from where I was staying.  So I messaged...

John had reached out way back before the ride when I was still in PEI.  So he has been following my ride from the very beginning.  Upon reaching Vancouver John invited me on his show - The Healthy...

I knew Shannon from way back in 2011 when I lived in Vancouver after my first bike ride.  We attended the same church.  Shannon was really sure where I was except he was sure that I was somewhere...

Orlando is a long time social media follower from Abbotsford British Columbia.  Orlando is actually friends with Ray Chin and was thanks to Orlando that me and Ray met. Orlando drove out to...

Wandering through Vancouver this afternoon Bruce Barton walks up to me and asks me if I am Arie. 2.5 million people live in Vancouver. He said he recognized my smile, my (Voortman Cookie) baseball...

I met some super interesting folks last night - Antoine Gagne & Isabelle Richard of Quebec Antoine & Isabelle designed and modified their van to allow them to live in their van all year...

I stayed with this really nice family for 2 nights.  Dawn is originally from Halifax Nova Scotia and spent much of her early years biking and bike touring.  It was awesome to talk bike touring. ...

Bruce and Hilary of Salmon Arm BC hosted me for 2 nights. (Hilary wouldn’t go for the picture deal) I stayed an extra day to enjoy a day on Shuswap Lake on their boat. And I ate like a king all day....

Hermann had posted a comment to a Facebook Group post a very long time ago about hosting me if I came his way.  So when I sent him a message that I would be coming through town (Salmon Arm BC) he...

I spent 3 nights at Kicking Horse Hostel in Golden British Columbia. I want to thank Tanya very much for being a lovely host. Camping in the backyard was only $10 a night plus access to everything...

Bruce is a long time follower from the beginning. Bruce contacted me when I arrived in Jasper. He offered to pick me up and drive me to McBride British Columbia (170 km’s) towards Prince George and...

After finally getting down to work on my computer in Jasper. Two guys knock on the front window of the hostel I am staying at. (The main waiting/working area of the downtown hostel on the main floor...

Ha Phan reached out to me on May 24 about her bike ride across Canada. On June 15 Ha left Toronto headed to Vancouver. Since then we have remained in contact with me feeding her intel on the road...

I met Nicole when their family was camping in Dinosaur Provincial Park the other week.  Nicole noticed me on my bike and wanted to know my story.  While looking for hosting in Calgary Nicole reached...

While visiting the Hoodoos in Drumheller I was wondering about hosting for Calgary as I need some rear wheel hub repairs.  I put a post out to my followers.  Through a Facebook share via another fan...

On August 2 when I arrived at the Hoodoos near Drumheller  Alberta I was basically out of water, 6 days without a shower, my battery packs almost drained, I had just pedallled 100 km's in the heat...

I barely pedalled to his business with more bike issues. Kevin helped me locate some bike help in Brooks that could possibly look at my bike.  I arrived at Kevin's shop about 20 minutes before...

I walked into That’s Empressive in the town of Empress to make arrangements for a camping site and a shower. Ted took one look at me and instantly recognized me as a cyclist biking across Canada. I...

So east of Swift Current my bike trailer wheel started to make a squealing noise and I knew instantly what the problem was.  A quick inspection of the wheel validated my suspicions.  The one dust...

Chris and Lindsay from Regina Saskatchewan are looking to cycle across Canada on trikes next year.  So it was great to be able to talk gear and bike routes. I stayed at their place for 2 nights...

Brad Brown owns and runs a local newspaper in Saskatchewan covering the small towns Vibank, Odessa, Sedley, Francis, Montmartre, Kronau, White City, Emerald Park, Pilot Butte and Balgonie. Brad had...

I had an amazing time at CFB Shilo.  This was my first time ever being on a military base.  I actually had such an amazing experience learning about Steve and Steve's career in the military as an...

Louis Masur for hosting me in Winnipeg (via Warm Showers) for 2 evenings. Louis convinced me to stay an extra day to check out some of the sites in Winnipeg. So glad I did. Winnipeg has more going...

Tara saw my news piece in the Sudbury Star Newspaper and reached out that if I was going through Ft Frances that there was a place for me to stay to rest up and get caught up on my work. Because of...

Russ at Taggs Source for Sports in Fort Frances Russ went totally out of the way to help me with a failed rear hub. I would end up being stuck in Fort Frances for practically a week because of my...

Making my way down Highway 11 my phone rang.  It was Harry Ludwig an old co-driver from Voortman Cookies.  Harry was currently driving through Nipigon with his wife on his way west to Winnipeg to...

Martin, Corinne, Matthew, Samuel & Kyla On my west from Thunder Bay I stopped at the beautiful Kakebeka Falls.  In less then a minute of arriving The Tempelman family approached me curious about...

Coming into Thunder Bay I knew I needed my bike tuned up and was desperate to charge batteries and get on top of my blogging and documenting.   So I reached through Warm Showers.org.  Annie...

Imagine my surprise pedalling towards Thunder Bay via Lakeshore Drive when another cycle tourist pulls up along side me.  Victor is from France and was in Quebec for school.  The day we met was his...

Ray is the first cycle tourist I have run into on my ride since starting out in November 12, 2019.  Ray reached out through a mutual follower.  I think when Ray was going through Thunder Bay when he...

Clarke is a news man from Yourtv North Bay.  Steve Featherstone invited Clarke out to the reptile camp  when I was visiting Steve to do  news clip for that evening.

Steve runs Reptile Adventure Camp in Bonfield.  Steve is one of the very people that I know who has consistently from the day I met him has impressed me. I wrote a blog post on Reptile Adventure...

I met Julian at the picnic area of Dorset.  Julian was with his dad and they saw my bike and stopped to talk.  Julian is 17 and just recently purchased a MEC National bike just like mine and plans...

Russ lives a little south east of Minden Ontario and reached out to me the day I announced that I was back on the road.  Thanks to Russ I was able to a shower, a hot meal and a laundry done....

John was a co-worker/driver at Voortman Cookies where I worked until I started on this bike ride.  John had called me a few days earlier on my birthday.  Quickly in the conversation we realized that...

Arriving in Kingston March 19 to visit my aunt Henny on my way through seemed like it should have been fairly uneventful visit.  Little did I know this visit would be on the eve of the escalation of...

Of Hamilton Ontario Paul started his own YouTube channel at the same time I started the Safari Arie YouTube channel.  Paul did a really cool Safari Arie Bike Ride video.  You can watch it here.  Be...

From Sarnia Ontario Brandon is my new YouTube producer and I am super excited to work with him.  Brandon is a real go-getter and it did not take him long to get a trailer and a hour long documentary...

Of Fredericton, New Brunswick David reached out interested in connecting via video.  David is a fellow touring cyclist who has been following me for sometime now.  It was interesting to speak to him...

Josh was biking eastbound as I was headed westbound leaving Brockville Ontario.  Josh instantly did a u-turn and pedaled with me for a few kilometers before saying our goodbyes.

On Monday March 15 I had the pleasure to be a guest on Chris Adam's podcast Bike Tour Adventures.  I had recently found out about his podcast while I was still driving a truck and enjoyed listening...

Andrew has been following me for a long time now.  Andrew let me stay at his family home in Kamouraska, Quebec on March 14th.  I also stayed 3 nights with Andrew and his family in Ottawa.  On March...

Only a few hours into Ontario leaving Bourget on my way to Ottawa a pick up truck pulled off the side of the road and a gentleman get out and asking me if I am Arie.  I could not believe it.  Thanks...

Richard reached out and offered to take me to lunch on my way out of Montreal.  Richard wanted me to experience Montreal's famous smoked meat so we meet at Smoke Meat Pete in Ile-Perrot. Richard's...

While in Montreal Andre reached out to me with an offer to host me.  I owe Andre and his wife Claire a huge thank you as I ended up staying a bit longer than planned.  Because of a Friday meeting in...