Bruce Oconner
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...
Anthony Giardetti and Chris Townsend
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
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...
Better Questions and Reflections to Live By – Part 13
Over the years in truck I got into listening to podcasts. First a few a week and then depending on the day sometimes listening to podcasts 6-7 hours a day. I have probably listen to a few 1000...
Marshal, Leia, Nicole and Noah Starkman
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...
Josh Hart
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...
Alberta Badlands – July 28 to Aug 1
July 28 Some Notes - Arriving in Empress Alberta yesterday. Today is my first full day in Alberta. Today I also get to celebrate 200 days on the road (not including time off for Christmas and...
200 days on the road
Almost nothing has gone as planned and I wouldn’t change a single thing On July 28th on my first full day in Alberta I was able to celebrate 200 days on the road. This does not include some...
My Plans For The Canadian Arctic
This "feature photo" for this blog piece is a photo of the actual Arctic Ocean that I took in 2004 during a road trip to Alaska. So as I write this it is August 8, 2020 and I am currently in Calgary...
Dave and April De Smet (with Sam Stahl on the left)
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...
Saskatchewan – July 17 to 28 and Summary
July 17 Km’s Travelled - 100 km’s Destination – 4 km’s east of Kipling Some Notes – As usual beautiful day but with killer headwinds. I actually left the TransCanada Hwy in Moosomin to cut across...
Kevin the owner of Badlands Mercantile
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...
Pat Donaldson and her son Ted
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...
Grant at Pedal Works Bike Shop
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...
Manitoba – July 6 to July 16 & Summary
July 6 Km’s pedalled - 106 km’s Some Notes – I traded the hills for a headwind. Today has been very windy, hot and sunny. The headwind seems to have made the temperatures or at least the humid...
Better questions and reflections to live by – Part 12
Over the years in truck I got into listening to podcasts. First a few a week and then depending on the day sometimes listening to podcasts 6-7 hours a day. I have probably listen to a few 1000...
Chris and Lindsay Sasseville
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
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...
A cyclist guide – Hwy 11 from Thunder Bay to Kenora Ontario
The purpose of this blog post is as a cyclist guide for Ontario's Hwy 11 from Thunder Bay to Kenora. But not to give you every single detail about this route as there would be little point in...
Some of my favourite movie quotes
This just a blog post of some of my favourite movie quotes Now play the game. Your game. The one only you was meant to play. The one that was given to you when you came into this world. - The...
Steve & Kathy Sloat
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
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...
Ontario Completed – June 28 to July 5 and Summary
Dates – June 28 to July 2, 2020 So I actually got into Fort Frances on June 25. I was fortunate to be able to have a host Tara MacEachern who read about my bike ride in the Sudbury newspaper. Tara...
Cyclist finds kindness in Fort Frances on way to Argentina
Wednesday, Jul 8, 2020 Category: Sports Merna Emara Imagine yourself and your bike, alone, in the eerie depths of roads that stretch over nations. You have nothing but a travel-sized tent and a...
Tara MacEachern
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 from Taggs Source for Sports
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...
Thank You!
Admittedly it has been a while since I posted an appreciation post. Sometimes the day to day blogging and documenting work load gets overwhelming. Mostly the purpose of this post is for myself to...
Reptile Adventure Camp
I had the pleasure on May 26 and 27, 2020 to visit Reptile Camp in Bonfield Ontario. I had a few questions for Steve Featherstone the owner and camp director. How many animals are under your care?...
I sit in the quiet
I feel Your presence over me My eyes gaze towards the heavens I have so many questions It has been too long Since I sat in the quiet of Your presence My eyes gaze towards the ground beneath me What...
Thunder Bay to Fort Frances – June 18 to 26, 2020
June 18 Km’s Pedalled - 38 km’s Destination – Thunder Bay - Warm Showers host Some Notes – A beautiful sunny day. Shortly after getting on the road a cycle tourer came up behind me -Victor Beraud. ...
Harry Ludwig
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...
The Tempelman Family
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...
Annie Morin & Wes Etherington
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...
Further west into Northern Ontario – June 11 to 17, 2020
June 11 Pedalled - 65.5 km Destination – a rest area 10 east of White River Some Notes – I thought maybe it would be a good idea to grab one last shower before I left Catfish Lake Cottages. The...
Victor Beraud
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...
Better questions and reflections to live by – Part 11
Over the years in truck I got into listening to podcasts. First a few a week and then depending on the day sometimes listening to podcasts 6-7 hours a day. I have probably listen to a few 1000...
Moving Forward – Comments
I recently wrote a blog post called Moving Forward. The post was in response to an unexpected situation in my life. Rather then give a summary I will simply put the link to that post HERE. The...
Northern Ontario – June 5 to 10, 2020
June 5 Km’s pedalled - 53 km’s Destination - Harmony Beach Some Notes - Yesterday evening Ray Chin a fellow cycle tourist showed up at the hotel. Notes on meeting him can be found at the last blog...
Moving Forward
So I woke up to an email this morning. A person who shall remain nameless who over the last few months had become somewhat of a mentor of mine and I thought was my very good friend basically total...
Your bike ride inspired me
I get that messaged or told to me a lot. But most people don’t really elaborate beyond that phrase? Inspired you in what way? How does it inspire you? What in your life is now different? What...
Getting into Northern Ontario – May 27 to June 4, 2020
May 27 Today was pretty much a down day. I got to work on blogging for about an hour or two. But I am so far behind I am not sure if I will ever get caught up. Today was actually a great day I was...
Ray Chin
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...
Just lying in my tent
Just lying in my tent No where to be Listening to all the birds Must have heard over a dozen types Just lying in my tent No where to be Listening to the breeze play through the trees Just lying in...
Back on the road – May 19 to 26, 2020
Challenges So I am back on the road as of May 19. Premier Doug Ford started lifting restrictions thanks to Covid-19 on May 19 and I took that as my cue to start moving again. As with many people I...
‘Interesting to see where all this leads’
Arie Hoogerbrugge certainly knows his way around a bicycle, and is more than adept at navigating Canada’s highways from the seat of his two-wheeler. The 47-year-old Grimsby native completed a...
Cyclist stops in Sudbury during epic journey
Arie Hoogerbrugge certainly knows his way around a bicycle, and is more than adept at navigating Canada’s highways from the seat of his two-wheeler. The 47-year-old Grimsby native completed a...
Safari Arie’s journey from the Arctic to Argentina goes through North Bay
'My plan is to keep peddling until I run into a problem and if I do then I need to pivot accordingly' May 31, 2020 9:00 AM By: Chris Dawson Not even a global pandemic is stopping Arie Hoogerbrugge...
Clarke Heipel from YourTV North Bay
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.
Making a dream come true, one kilometre at a time
By Darren Lum Riding up County Road 121 a few kilometres from Kinmount, 47-year-old Arie Hoogerbrugge pedals his bicycle, smiling, free from the constraints of an ordinary life, pushing his...
Steve and Holly Featherstone
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...
Julian Lukasik
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 Duhaime
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 Ligtenberg
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...
Henny Hoogerbrugge
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...
Algonquin Provincial Park – May 2 to May 11, 2020
May 2 to May 11, 2020 Bike Ride Loop to and through Algonquin Park from Kingston – 680 km’s total/ 10 days on the road and 9 nights in the tent This side ride was not recorded on Strava and was an...
The Safari Arie Road Show Episode #1 & questions from my audience
As many of you are aware on April 10 I released my first episode of The Safari Arie Road Show with my YouTube producer Brandon McCaskill. The purpose of this show is to partially replace the...
Better questions and reflections to live by – Part 10
Over the years in truck I got into listening to podcasts. First a few a week and then depending on the day sometimes listening to podcasts 6-7 hours a day. I have probably listen to a few 1000...
Surviving Ontario – March 24 to April 9, 2020
I am not sure how exciting this post will be for most people as I am not pedalling anywhere. So I guess mostly this post is for my own documentation purposes. At the time of writing this I have...
Safari Arie Creative Writing Exercise #2
My plan during this self isolation is to work on and improve my writing skills. I am reading the book Wild Mind Living, The Writer’s Life by Natalie Goldberg. I hope to spend the first part of my...
Paul Kennedy AKA the Dyslexic Artist
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...
Safari Arie Creative Writing Exercise #1
My plan during this self isolation is to work on and improve my writing skills. I am reading the book Wild Mind Living The Writer’s Life by Natalie Goldberg. I hope to spend the first part of my...
Surviving Covid-19
I hate talking about Covid-19. Everyone and their mother posts 14 things a day about the virus. The last thing the world needs is another article posted about this virus. I wanted to avoid the...
Brandon McCaskill
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...
Epic bike ride on pause in Kingston until pandemic passes
The COVID-19 pandemic forced Arie Hoogerbrugge to stop his 55,000-kilometre ride from the Canadian Arctic to the southern tip of South America. (Elliot Ferguson/The Whig-Standard) This article was...
The MEC Experience
Bike touring is hard on equipment. Bike touring in the winter is even harder on gear. I needed the right bike and the right gear and I needed to be able to count on my provider. There was only...
David Brown
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...
One Tree Planted
On March 9, 2020 I had the privilege of visiting the Montreal office of One Tree Planted at the Montreal We Work Office. Now that spring and summer are upon us I hope to engage and learn from tree...
Ontario – March 18 to 23
March 18 Pedal: 141 km's Destination: Brockville Weather: A sunny morning that turned overcast much of the afternoon; but temperatures were good. I am so glad to be moving on from Ottawa. Ottawa...
Better questions and reflections to live by – Part 9
Over the years in truck I got into listening to podcasts. First a few a week and then depending on the day sometimes listening to podcasts 6-7 hours a day. I have probably listen to a few 1000...
Covid-19 and moving forward
What can I say about this virus considering I have been trying to avoid the whole topic since all this started. That being said a lot of people have reached out so I guess it is time to say...
What Runs Through Your Mind?
A question was posted on my personal Facebook Timeline. It was an interesting question and had some nice responses to my response that I was hoping to save in the form of a blog post and not get...
“Safari Arie” is the new Man in Motion
This an article that was written about me and published March 18, 2020 by one of my host's Andrew Caddell OTTAWA -- Arie Hoogerbrugge is a man on a mission. Two missions, in fact: first, ride his...
Josh Graveline
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.
Chris Adam of Bike Tour Adventures
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...
Ontario – March 12 to March 17, 2020
March 12 Pedal: 122 km's Destination: Ottawa Weather: Today was sunny coming into Ontario and bit on the cold side. Temperatures warmed up and while there was a bit of a crosswind more often than...
Andrew Caddell
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...
Quebec – March 5 to 12, 2020 plus the Summary
March 5 It was after 1am before I got to bed. I have potentially exciting news regarding getting my YouTube Channel running and am also working on some new content for my website. If people...
Brian Kostick
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 Arlen
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...
Andre & Claire Cournoyer
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...
How do you decide to bike across Canada in the winter when you hate winter?
Perhaps Arguable, Perhaps Offensive or Perhaps Motivating The look of disbelieve that escape people's faces when I confess that I neither like the cold or winter. Would you believe I actually have...
Quebec – February 27 to March 4, 2020
February 27 Today I have officially been on the road 100 days and have pedaled 4,086 km's. Initially I was planning to take advantage of a walking tour of Old Quebec City this morning that is...
Pascal Longhi
Pascal is originally from France who came to Canada about 5 years ago for school is living in Montreal. Pascal has been following my ride and reached out to me Wednesday March 4, 2020. Pascal...
Paul Directeur
Paul is the guy in charge of the HI Hostel in Trois-Rivieres. I really like him.
Quebec – February 21 to 26, 2020
February 21 Pedal: 63 km's (including the last 20 km's in NB) Destination: Temiscouata-sur-le-Lac, QU Weather: The morning was sunny and cold. I started the day with -20C and thankfully the sun...
John Doe
Of Quebec City asked that his name not be used on the internet I reached out to John through Warm Showers. I was thinking when I entered Quebec City I would see if anyone on Warm Showers was...
I still feel empty
Why won’t this emptiness go away The roads I travel, the cold I feel Still so empty inside Every night the sun sets Every morning a sun rises Day in day out. Already experienced ten lifetimes The...
Better questions and reflections to live by – Part 8
Over the years in truck I got into listening to podcasts. First a few a week and then depending on the day sometimes listening to podcasts 6-7 hours a day. I have probably listen to a few 1000...
Andrew Caddell
Living in Ottawa Andrew let me stay at his family vacation home in Kamouraska Quebec Photo is view from back window over the St Lawrence River. I hope to meet Andrew when I reach Ottawa. Andrew is...
Sandy Carr
Sandy is the driver that originally brought me out to New Brunswick to be picked up by my parents after leaving my job to start my ride. We left the bakery October 28. I had the opportunity to run...
Charity Bike Ride
So I feel that I have been asked at least 100 times or more (at this point) whether or not I am riding for or raising money for a charity. Usually I keep the answer pretty simple to - "No." ...
New Brunswick February 14 to 20 & Summary
February 14 Pedal: 25.5 km's Destination: Fredericton Weather: I camped behind the Tim Hortons and the temperatures dropped to -18C. I slept like crap though in the night but I didn't feel too...
New Brunswick – I have arrived
Intro to New Brunswick My route through New Brunswick is pretty straight forward. I will travel from Saint John to Fredericton up to Edmundston and then into Quebec. Because of where I am in the...
Shaun Albright of Crossing Path Guest House
Address: 698 Main St, Woodstock, NB E7M 2E3 Phone: (506) 324-0229 A great place to stay and bike friendly! Shaun is a long time follower and reached out about giving me a place to stay when going...
Media Day – February 10, 2020
Today was a pretty crazy day for media. At about 6:50am I was interviewed on CBC Radio Saint John New Brunswick with Rachel Cave in their studios. And later in the afternoon I did a TV news...
Margo Campbell
On my way to Woodstock, NB just before getting to the TransCanada I had a pretty amazing experience. It is experiences like these that remind me that I am on schedule and where I am suppose to be at...
The Poirer family
Kai, Zavier, Anna, Tracy & Michel Poirer from Fredericton New Brunswick on Warm Showers Michel was the first person that I ever reached out on Warm Showers for. I was in Fredericton and was...
Russ Newman
I was pedaling along the Saint John River when a gentleman called out to me and I u-turned into his driveway. His name was Russ Newman. Russ was an American that spent 2 tours in Vietnam and had...
Nova Scotia – Feb 2 to 9, 2020 and Summary
February 2 Spent the day inside at Mike & Monique's working on blogs and photos. February 3 Pedal: 93 km's Destination: Liverpool Weather: Today was sunny with cloudy periods, most of the day...