Darren Alff’s 25th Birthday Extravaganza

Yes, I turned 25 today. 25 years old! Wow!

Over the past year I’ve made a lot of changes in my life. I’ve set a lot of goals, achieved many of them, and learned more in the last 12 months than at any other time in my life.

One of the biggest changes I made this year occurred when I started my website at www.bicycletouringpro.com. I started the site after my college roommate, Brandon Roesler, approached me saying that he wanted to go on a long distance bicycle tour. Because I was traveling by bike every summer back in college, Brandon knew that I had some knowledge on the subject, so he pumped me for as much information as he could get.

After a couple long conversations with Brandon, I decided one night to create a website where I would write down everything I knew about bicycle touring. I bought the domain name that night and a week or so later, BicycleTouringPro.com was born.

Just a few weeks after putting up the site, I started to receive some traffic. Then, in December (the same day I had my wisdom teeth removed), the Adventure Cycling Association published a short blurb about me in their bi-monthly email newsletter – Bike Bits.

That single mention skyrocketed my traffic and before I knew it I had close to 700 people on my mailing list.

From that moment on, I’ve been working to improve the website, give out valuable information, and provide an income source for myself that will allow me to travel the world and life the lifestyle I wish to live.

One of the best parts about my work on the BicycleTouringPro.com website is that I have met so many incredible people because of it. Every single day I get to talk to people from all over the world. I’ve met famous authors, talked to world famous travelers, and am now working with some of the biggest names in the bicycle industry. And of of this happened because I decided to follow my dreams and start a website about something I was passionate about!

I’m extremely proud of my work with BicycleTouringPro.com and I’m excited about the future of the website, but here are some other things I’m proud of accomplishing this year:

1). I traveled to Aruba

2). Went to Atlanta, Georgia (twice!)

3). Got my wisdom teeth removed

4). Learned the basics of the German language

5). Cut ice cream out of my diet (almost entirely)

6). Wrote and published “The Ultimate Guide To Free Lodging”

7). Made the decision to live in Europe for 3+ months

8). Got rid of my car

9). Joined a mastermind group with likeminded entrepreneurs from around North America (all of which are considerably older than I am)

10). Learned a ton about blogging, Internet marketing, and social networking

11). Attended the Interbike International Bicycle Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada

… plus, a whole lot more!

Okay! So if you really want to give me a present for my birthday, here are three things you can do:

1). Tell someone about my website at www.bicycletouringpro.com. I’m working hard to make this website my main source of income, so any traffic you could send my way would be greatly appreciated. If you’d like to go on step further, notify the local press in your area about the site and my upcoming travels to Europe this winter.

2). Make a donation to help me fund my trip to Europe and continue to grow my site at BicycleTouringPro.com.

3). Link back to this website or my website at www.bicycletouringpro.com.

Do any one of those three things and you’ll make my day! Thanks for being a part of my Birthday celebration. Now go out there and have a great day… just for me!

Who Else Is Having A Quarter-Life Crisis?

With just over a month to my 25th birthday, I’ve been doing some serious thinking about my life, what I’ve accomplished up until now, and what I hope to accomplish in the years to come. But the more I look at my current situation and the situation of those around me, the more I realize that we 20-somethings are all in a strange and trying time of our lives.

This week I met up with one of my good friends from high school, Matt Dawson. After high school, Matt moved to Australia and worked as a missionary for a group called YWAM. Eight years later, he is married, has two kids, and is still working with YWAM youth ministry program. Matt’s income is derived almost entirely from donations of those who believe in what he is doing for the church and with a wife and two kids to support, you can imagine just how difficult that might be at times.

Then last Saturday I held a small get-together/movie night at my parents’ house. But before everyone came over for the movie, Travis Miller and his new wife Kelli came for a visit. We talked for a bit about their honeymoon in Jamaica and then I followed them over to their new apartment near the University of Channel Islands. I couldn’t stay long, but it looked like they were settled in for the most part and doing quite well for their first week of marriage back in civilization.

After visiting with Travis and Kelli, I rushed back to my parents’ house and met up with my friends Eric, Wes, Sharon, and David. David and Sharon brought friends of their own.

We all ate hamburgers (Except for me. I ate a veggie burger.) and then went inside to watch Brook Silva-Braga’s incredible backpacking film, “A Map For Saturday.”

My hope in showing this movie to my friends was that I might encourage some of them to meet me in Europe this winter. The movie was such an inspiration for me, but it didn’t seems to have the same impact on my friends. Money was brought up as the main reason for not going. Commitments to friends, family, and work were also discussed.

The next day I took a train down to San Diego. My aunt and uncle picked me up at the train station and then drove me back to their home on Coronado island.

Once in Coronado, we spent a lot of time talking about my upcoming travel plans, my aunt and uncle’s travels through Ireland, and a bunch of other random topics. In addition, we went out to eat Mexican food, explored some of the local shops, and then I fixed up Aunt Christi’s bicycle so we could all go on a ride.

We all started out from Tom and Christi’s home, but Christi returned after just a short while. Tom and I continued down The Strand for a couple miles and returned home just as the sun was setting. I loved seeing all the people out on bikes in Coronado. That just isn’t something you see where my parents live and it isn’t even as popular here in Park City where the mountains make it difficult for the average person to just get out and ride.

On Wednesday I took a plane back to Salt Lake City. I then drove in a pimped out Cadillac Escalade back to my condo and began the long and tedious process of moving all my stuff back in from the basement.

It was great to return home to a clean environment. I always like coming back here to Park City because it’s like starting over again. Every time I return home I get to decide how I will reorganize my furniture, how I will organize my days, and how I will plan out the rest of my life.

Then yesterday I went on a hike. It was my first hike since returning to Park City. I saw a snake and traveled about 6 miles on foot. It wore me out and I didn’t accomplish much for the rest of the day.

More than anything, my recent trip to California made me realize that I’m going through a strange time in my life. A lot of crazy things are happening. I’m an adult now and I’ve got a lot more responsibilities. I’ve also realized that compared to a lot of my friends, I don’t have hardly any responsibilities at all. And while I love the life I have now, I don’t want to be doing the same things a year from now. I need to constantly be changing and I think this trip to Europe is going to force me to make those changes. Force me to be more independent. Force me to make my own decisions. Force me to stand on my own. Force me to meet more people.

A Map Of Europe? Or A Man With Hemorroides ?

This morning I went out to breakfast with my dad. We started to talk about my plans for spending this coming winter in Europe and he wanted to know exactly where I was planning to go. But when I started naming places I planned to visit, he wasn’t exactly sure where all those places were.

I didn’t have a map of Europe on me, so I grabbed a piece of paper and quickly drew out a rough map of Europe from memory.

When it was over, I had the image that you see below. At first glance it looked like a really crappy drawing of Europe, but at second glance it looked like a man bending at the waist.

What do you see? A crappy map of Europe? A man bending at the knees? A man with a tail? Let me know!

Eight Days In Aruba: My Cycling Adventure

Earlier this summer I traveled for eight days to the island of Aruba. My parents have a timeshare that they own and at the last minute they decided that they weren’t going to be able to use it. When they said I could use the timeshare to go wherever I wanted, I jumped at the opportunity. I did a lot of research and finally decided to travel to Aruba.

Before this trip I didn’t even know where Aruba was. I knew it was an island, but that was about all I knew.

In case you don’t know, Aruba is a small island about 25 miles north of Venezuela. It’s a part of the Dutch Caribbean and the people there speak four different languages: Dutch, Spanish, English, and the native language of Papiamento. In my entire time there, I failed to meet a single person that did not speak at least some English.

When I started my trip I flew out of Salt Lake City International and first went to Atlanta, Georgia before boarding the plane that would take me to Aruba. It was a long flight for what seemed like an island not that far away.

Because of the work I’ve been doing on my website at www.bicycletouringpro.com, I bought a Bike Friday folding bike and took it with me on the trip. The great thing about this bike is that it folds up and fits inside a standard suitcase. This is a huge benefit because you don’t have to pay any extra fees to fly with your bicycle. And now that airlines are charging for second bags and a whole host of otherwise normally free items, this will save me a huge amount of money in the future.

Anyway, once I arrived in Aruba I had to immediately put my bike together and ride to the hotel. I found a small island between to busy lanes of traffic and put my bike together here. It was so hot and humid that in just a few moments I was instantly covered in sweat. It was horrible.

Once I had the bike together I had to ride about 6 miles from the airport to the hotel. This sounded easy back home, but once I got out on the road, it was a complete nightmare. The roads in Aruba are crazy! There is no shoulder, there is glass in the road, and the drivers honk at you! To make it worse, I was pulling a trailer behind me and it was making my ride three times more difficult.

I did eventually get to the hotel, but by that time I was practically in a state of shock. I checked into my room and checked my email only to find that a guy I had been hoping to work with on a business deal had sent me a nasty email. Apparently he wasn’t much of a businessman because he misinterpreted an offer as some sort of threat. He thought I was trying to cheat him in some way, but I was actually trying to help him. He eventually realized his mistake and tried to make amends, but I was already over him. I didn’t want to work with such a jackass, so I just ignored him.

The first night in Aruba was not a good one. I was running on about an hour’s worth of sleep and I was depressed as hell. In fact, I wrote an article about the depression I was feeling and posted it on my bicycle touring site here.

The next morning I checked out of the hotel and rode with my bike and trailer down the California Lighthouse in the northeast side of the island. Once I got out of the touristy areas the ride became quite enjoyable. I spent the day looking for geocaches and riding in the dunes on the east side of the island.

Later that day I rode back to the main part of the island and checked into the timeshare resort.

The resort was located about a mile from the beach, but I found this to be a great benefit. It was away from most of the crowds and my room came with a balcony with an excellent view of the fancy resorts and casinos that line the northern coast.

Inside my room I had a bedroom, 2 bathrooms, a fully stocked kitchen, and a living room. It was more than I needed and it was my home away from home.

Most days in Aruba I woke up late, checked my email, and then went on a bike ride for a couple hours during the day. Then at night I would return home, take a shower and walk down to the tourist area to get some dinner (usually just French fries). Then I would talk back to the resort, watch some TV and eat my dinner, and then go down to the pool, check my email again, and write some articles for my bicycle touring website.

 

As I think back on it now, these were perfect days. I was doing everything that I like to do! I could sleep in late, go on a bike ride, eat my dinner in peace, and hang out on the Internet. If I could work my life out so I could do this every single day, I’d be a very happy person.

I could go into great detail and tell you every little thing that happened to me out there, but I’d rather not. Instead, I’ll share some photos with you and that will be it.

To wrap things up I’d simply like to state that when I first got to Aruba I nearly had a panic attack and wanted to leave immediately. But once I got settled in I really began to enjoy myself and didn’t want to leave. I could have easily stayed there for another few weeks. I really liked it… and I’m sure glad I went.

To learn more about my trip to Aruba… and to learn how I used my Bike Friday folding bike while on this short excursion, I have created a bunch of material which you can purchase for a small fee. This material is called “Traveling With A Folding Bike - Cycling In Aruba” and is available online at my website at BicycleTouringPro.com. 

A Quick Account Of My Trip To Atlanta, Georgia

My father is a Chiropractor in the State of California and he recently decided to attend a seminar in Atlanta, Georgia. I’ve been wanting to visit Georgia for quite some time, so my mother decided it would be a good idea if the entire family were to follow my father and all go to Atlanta at the same time.

My father (Dr. Steve Alff, D.C.) with Robin Leach (The Host of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”)

I was hesitant to go, though… and for a number of reasons.

First of all, I kind of drive myself crazy when I am with my family. I’m so used to be alone and traveling by myself that I can’t stand moving at their incredibly slow pace. Looking like a tourist and not knowing what I am doing is something I try to avoid at all costs when I am traveling by myself. But when I am with my family there is no avoiding the fact that we look like a family on vacation.

Secondly, I really wanted to go to Georgia, but I had little or no interest in seeing the city of Atlanta. I am much more interested in the small country roads and lush, green mountains. So I was afraid that if I went on this trip I might never want to come back to Georgia and see the areas I truly wanted to see. I know this sounds a bit bizarre, but this is how I think!

In the end, I did decide to go. I flew from Salt Lake City to Denver and then continued my flight into Atlanta. My parents, however, flew from LAX and went straight to the Atlanta Airport. I met them in baggage claim.

From the airport we took the MARTA, which is Atlanta’s public train system, to our hotel – The Westin.

The hotel room was small, but the view was incredible! We could see practically everything in the city. It was great. I had fun staying up at night and just staring out the window, watching the cars below. What a view!

We didn’t do much our first day in Atlanta. We just walked around a little and explored the area. Not more than half a mile from our hotel was a big park where people were gathering to watch an outdoor movie on a giant portable movie screen. It was pretty cool. More cities should do this!

The day after arriving in Atlanta my sister and mother and I went to the Margaret Mitchell House and Museum. In case you don’t know, Margaret Mitchell was the woman who wrote the book, “Gone With The Wind.” Visiting this place was my mother’s idea, but I ended up really enjoying myself. The museum and house were not all that interesting, but I thought Margaret Mitchell herself was a very interesting person.

The next day we went to the Coca-Cola Museum. Apparently, Coca-Cola was developed in Atlanta… and they now have a huge building dedicated to brainwashing tourists into drinking Coke! The whole museum really was an exercise in brainwashing… but it was neat to see all the years of Coca-Cola merchandise and advertising. Because I’m interested in marketing, I found their ads and slogans extremely interesting.

At the end of the Coca-Cola Museum tour there was a large tasting room where you could sample all the Coca-Cola products from around the world. I don’t normally drink soda at all, so after about six different samples from places such as Africa, Asia, South America, and Europe, I was about to vomit. I don’t know why people like that stuff so much. It just made me feel sick.

We then went to an art museum on the far side of the city. It was neat, but we had to rush through it because we were so late. They had some great artwork there, but I can’t show you much of it because they restricted us from taking photos. We snuck a few photos in anyway though.

On our third day in Atlanta we went to a history museum. There was a big exhibit on the Civil War, the Atlanta Olympics, Southern Folk Art, and more.

My sister (Marissa) and I in the Atlanta History Center. Racing eachother on an Olympic exhibit.

We ate lunch at Johnny Rockets and I ordered french fries. They served them with a smiley face made from ketchup!

We also went to a big mansion. No one famous lived there really. It was just the home of some wealthy southerners in the early 1900’s. I didn’t think the house was very impressive, but the grounds were fantastic.

The highlight of the trip for me was the trip to Margaret Mitchell’s house. I thought she was pretty interesting.

The worst part of the trip was being in a big city and going at my family’s incredibly slow pace. We often times took the train to get from place to place, but if I had been in Atlanta on my own, I likely would have just walked to most of the places we went. They weren’t that far away.

In the end, I’d give downtown Atlanta an 8 out of 10. It was a fun little getaway, but I really want to go back to Georgia now and see what life is like outside the big city.