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!

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. 

The Importance Of Quitting While You’re Ahead

The other night I took a stroll along the beach here in Aruba and wandered inside the Riu Palace and Casino (A monstrous white building on the island’s northwest shore). 

I had a couple bucks in my pocket, so I wandered into a small room filled with slot machines and card tables.

I’ve never gambled before, so I thought I ought to start small.

I found a nickel slot decorated with the Munsters TV show theme, so I sat down and pulled out a crisp one-dollar bill.

It took me a couple spins before I figured out what I was actually doing, but before I knew it, I was up to $6.00 and feeling good.

I cashed out, thinking I would walk away with a $5.00 profit and feel good about myself for the rest of the day. But as I stood to leave the room I spotted the twenty-five cent slots.

“If I won $6.00 on nickel slots, I wonder what I could win on the quarter slots,” I thought to myself?

So I sat down at a machine and subsequently lost my six-dollar winnings.

Sometimes it’s difficult to quit when you’re ahead.