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.

Dreams Of Having My Own Gardener

Late yesterday afternoon I heard the mailman drop a big heavy package on my parent’s doorstep. I ran to the door to see what it was.

On the mat outside the front door was a large brown packege with an International Shipping sticker plastered onto its backside. I instantly knew who it was from – the family I stayed with in Germany last summer: The Rybickis!

Mr. and Mrs. Rybicki’s daughter, Natalie, was a foreign exchange student who came and stayed with my parents and sister in the summer of 2006. The year after that, I flew to Germany and stayed with the Rybicki family for approximately 1 month. Then, just two short months after returning back to the States, Natalie flew out to California for a second time and stayed with my parents yet again. I flew back to my parents’ as well and we all spent about a month or so showing Natalie around Southern California.

Last Christmas, as a way of saying thanks, The Rybickis sent my parents a gigantic package of German and Polish goodies. There was chocolate, fruit, wine, Christmas decorations and a whole host of other treats and surprises. But the package was absolutely huge… and I can’t imagine what they must have had to pay to get it shipped from Poland to the United States. (They typically mail packages from Poland because it is so much cheaper there).

Anyway, we got this new package yesterday and while it wasn’t quite as big as the package my parents got last Christmas, it was still incredibly heavy.

Inside the box were some clothes for my mom and sister, a bunch of German candies, and a scrapbook that Natalie made from her experiences both here in the United States and during my visit to Germany last summer.

The way Natalie made the scrapbook, it reminded me of a fairytale. It started with a “Once Upon A Time” and ended with a “Happy Ending.”

Somewhere in the middle, Natalie had a page where she listed all the things she likes. On this page were items like “Gold, money, festivals, Gucci, and $100,000 cars.” Then, on that very same page, she had written “My own gardener.”

I thought this was funny. My parents thought it was cute.

You see, here in California where my parents live, just about everyone has a gardener that comes once a week and cuts the grass, trims the bushes, and cares for the general landscaping of the house. But where Natalie is from in Germany, having your own gardener is far from the norm. She thought we were funny to have our own gardener… and now, months later, it seems as though she is dreaming of one day having a gardener of her own.

When Natalie was here visiting with my family, she shared with us some of her goals for the future. She wants to go to college, have a great (high paying) job, and possibly even live in the United States. And while her dreams of having a gardener are slightly humorous to this California native, I know that this is something my German friend is certainly capable of if she just puts her mind to it.

Thanks for the scrapbook Natalie! Keep up the good work… and say “hallo” to the rest of the family for me!

Travis Miller’s Wedding

Today my best high school friend, Travis Miller, got married. Since moving to Utah I’ve only talked to Travis a handful of times, but he was the first person to come and visit me in Utah – even if he was only there for two days.

I was asked to help videotape the ceremony with another high school friend, Katina Bartalone (now married as Katina Bergen), so I had a somewhat active role in the ceremony.

The wedding and reception was at a great Camarillo home in the hills between Camarillo and Santa Rosa. There was a luxurious swimming pool, small guesthouse, huge kitchen, and more!

What was most incredible about this wedding was the fact that I knew an incredible amount of people in attendance. It seemed that everyone there was someone I once knew back in elementary school, high school, or college.

My elementary school friend Michael Floryan was there with his new wife Jackie and brother Matt (who went to my college and majored in film just like I did).

Mr. and Mrs. Draine were there (parents of some old elementary school friends) and so were the Stevens (also elementary school friends).

My first soccer coach, Mr. Mark Cardella, and his wife were there.

Gabe Pascillas (a high school acquaintance) and Luke Campbell (high school friend and soccer teammate) were also there.

And my whole family was in attendance as well. My mom, dad, and sister.

I could go on, but you get the point. It was crazy just how many people were there that I knew.

Now that Travis is married, I’ve only got two close friends who have yet to tie the knot. Everyone else has already been married… and some already have kids!

It was great to see everyone, but it was strange to be back in Camarillo and seeing all these familiar faces. It just makes me feel old and a bit out of place.

My Return Trip Home: Bowling With The High School Buddies

I’ve recently returned to the great state of California and am staying in my childhood bedroom in my parents’ old house. It’s so strange to think that I grew up in this town. Everything looks exactly the same, but because I’ve been away for so long, everything looks completely different. If you’ve ever seen the movie Garden State with Zach Braff and Natalie Portman, you know what I’m talking about.

The main reason I’ve returned to California is because tomorrow, my best friend from high school, Travis Miller, is getting married. But more on that later!

Tonight, instead of attending a rehearsal dinner or anything of that sort, I went bowling with a group of my friends from high school. My friends Kris, Adrienne, Leslie and Jason were all in attendance. As well as Adrienne’s good friend Laura.

Kris and Adrienne just bought their first house in Santa Paula, so we all met at their house first and they gave us a tour and served us some pizza. Then we all carpooled over the bowling alley where I vigorously competed against my high school peers in a good old game of 10 pin. Kris and Adrienne were my stiffest competition.

It’s strange seeing people you haven’t seen in a while. You expect them to be totally different than what you remember of them, but most of the time they seem to be exactly the same.

“Do I appear this way as well?” I wonder.

I feel like I’ve changed so much since graduating from high school. And I’ve accomplished so many things! It’s a strange feeling to return after a year or more away. It’s good to be back home, but despite the fact this is the place where I spent the first 22 years of my life, it doesn’t feel like home anymore… and I’m trying to figure out exactly what that means.

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 Sad Goodbye To My First Road Bike – The LeMond Zurich

In my junior year of college I finally mustered up the courage to go on a ride with my University bike club. The only bike I had at the time was my Fuji Touring bike… and I was uncomfortable in my tight bike shorts and school riding jersey, but I was able to keep up with the group (for the most part) and had a lot of fun in the process.

After that first ride with the club, I knew I had to get a new bike if I ever wanted to come back and ride with the group again. My touring bike is a great bike for long slow rides, but for going fast, it just wasn’t going to cut it.

That weekend I went home and visited my local bike shop. I tried out a bunch of different road bikes before spotting a white and red (my school colors) LeMond Zurich in the corner.

“What about that bike?” I said to the salesman.

I grabbed the bike, took it out for a short test ride, and instantly knew that this was the bike I wanted. The frame was used and had some pretty heavy scratches on it, but the components were all brand new and the ride was as smooth as hell.

I bought the bike the next day and was the envy of the bike club the following week. It was nice to be able to keep up with the riders in my club… and I actually beat a few established members of the long uphill climbs.

I ended up riding with the University bike club until the end of my senior year, but after I moved to Utah, the bike has been sitting unused in my condo all this time. There is a ton of mountain biking up where I live, but the road biking is extremely limited. There just aren’t that many places to go!

That being said, I recently decided to sell my treasured LeMond. I put an ad on Craigslist.com and a few weeks later the bike was gone. The new owner is a 20-something war veteran, back on leave from a stint in Iraq.

The bike represents some of my best times in college, so I was sad to see it go. But I’m glad I could give the bike to someone else for them to enjoy. I was also glad to free up some room inside my condo and add some much needed money to my “long term savings” account. I’m saving up to go on another bicycle tour… so this money will really help.

Twitter Is Down… Again

I’ve been using the service at Twitter.com for about the past two months and the more I use it, the more I find that I really like this weird little service.

I wrote a post about Twitter a few weeks ago and since that time I have accumulated a great little following. I now have 37 people following me on Twitter and I am following 5 others.

Despite how much I like the service, it seems that Twitter has some serious server problems. Half the time I try and visit Twitter.com, the page either takes 30 seconds to load or the website is completely down and I am unable to punch in my updates.

Just look at what I got the other day when I tried to log in:

Here are the 5 people I am currently following on Twitter. I’ve ranked them in order from my favorite to my least favorite:

Darren Rowse – Problogger.net
Jeff Walker – ProductLaunchFormula.com
Heather B. Armstrong – Dooce.com
John Reese – Income.com
The Sundance Institute – Sundance.org

Here’s another one (June 12, 2008):

And another (June 13, 2008):

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