Bike Ride Updates

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...