Testimonials From BicycleTouringPro.com Readers
August 6, 2008 by Darren Alff
Over the past couple months I’ve started collecting some of the positive comments readers have sent me in regards to the website here at BicycleTouringPro.com. I love receiving these types of messages, as they are what keep me motivated to continue working on the site.
I thought it would be fun to share some of these comments with you, as many of them are from people who are either planning for or have just finished their first bicycle adventure.
If, after reading the testimonials provided here, you would like to share how the content here at BicycleTouringPro.com has help or inspired you in some way, please use the comments box at the bottom of this page to leave your own testimonial.
Reader Testimonials:
I don’t think I could ever prepare myself for my trip without your help. Every time I talk to you or go on your website I learn something new. Thanks for everything.
Brandon Roesler – Irvine, California
Hey! I just ran across your website from your videos on YouTube and I like what I’m seeing. I’m planning my first bike trip for this coming summer and I plan to visit your site often. Keep up the good work.
Jay Manuel
Just a quick note to say thanks for all the help your site has given me. I completed my 1st week long tour in June and your advice and videos certainly contributed to it’s success. Thanks again! Keep up the excellent work!
Paul McDonald
I have really enjoyed your site. I appreciate your views on touring and your more ‘modern’ approach to touring. I have most benefited from your posts on packing bags. I also took your post to heart about having a mirror. Keep up the good work on the website!
Kevin Ricker - Sendai-shi, Japan
Thanks for putting together and keeping this web site up. I read your site all the time. Some day I’ll make that great trip, and it will be because your cool web site that tells me that I can go anywhere I choose to. Thanks
Darrin Forquer - Pineville, North Carolina
I would just like to thank you for all the help you have given on your site over the last couple of months. I live in London and am planning a round the world bike ride leaving Britain in September. It will be a 2-year trip of a lifetime. I have had so much information from your site. You have helped with tent selection, pannier packing and just general information that has been amazing. Thank you once again. You have helped to make a dream come true. Great site Darren. Please add more! Thank you for all your help and advice.
Robert Halkett - London, England
Darren, Great site. I really like your videos. Thanks for all you do!
Nancy Phillips - Camarillo, California
I am a school teacher in Barrington, IL. I enjoy your videos very much. I have ridden my bike in the Land Between the Lakes many times and I am headed down there for spring break. Keep up the good work. I appreciate the fact that you are a clean minded, decent young man as well as a good bike tourer.
Roger Messman - Barrington, Illinois
This site is awesome! Keep up the good work!
Leslie Parr - Oxnard, California
Great stuff! I want to do some touring and have been reading all the articles you have posted. Thanks and keep posting great articles!
Colleen
I would say BicycleTouringPro.com has been a huge help for me - a beginning wannabe tourer. The information I have received has been invaluable, not only in preparation, but in building my confidence to a level where I know I can complete a tour with confidence. Darren’s willingness to personally respond to my questions has led me to view this site as one of my most important bicycle related resources. Also, Darren’s advice on handlebar bags and helpfulness when I purchased my Lone Peak Alta through his site was great–and that bag is the best thing I’ve added to my bike to date!
Chris Kmotorka - Tucson, Arizona
Now that I have actually had an opportunity to put your wisdom to use on the road with a tour I did with my son, I can say that all the information you have given on your website is useful. In particular the video of how and what to pack in the panniers was extremely helpful. My tour with my son was very fun and successful thanks to your helpful information! In fact, I was just mentioning your site to a friend of mine who just bought a touring bike. I told her she should check it out because your information is very good and practical. Us newbies need people like you!
Colleen Welch
There is a wealth of information on your website. I am grateful that you put the time and effort into sharing it. I have learned a great deal.
Brenda Waller - Griffin, Georgia
I’m training for a cross country ride in honor of my 60th birthday and I found your website while looking around the web for all the good advice I can get. Your site looks great! Thanks!
Joe Golden
Thanks for your wonderful website. I am planning a bike trip from Scarsdale, NY to Canada and around Vermont. I enjoy reading material on your site because it is immensely practical. It gives me a sense of what is possible and has built up my confidence to take longer trips. Keep up the good work!
Peter F. Mathias
Thank you Darren. I’m new to touring so I can learn a lot from you! I’ve just finished building my new touring bike and I’m hopeing to take it around Ireland this summer. Thanks for all your help through your website. The video section is great and it gives a much clearer insight on how to do things right. Thanks for a great site!
Anthony
Darren, I just wanted to say that I’ve been traveling by bike for a number of years… but I love the way you give a more age-appropriate approach to traveling by bike. I’m looking forward to what you have planned for the site in the future. Good work!
Richard Barton
Hi Darren…the Lone Peak bag (I ordered from your site) just arrived from UPS…I love it…I just attached it and I’m off for a ride…thanks again…
Robert G. Kemp - Tucson, Arizona
Thanks for all the good and useful info. I’m going on my first tour next week in Victoria, BC. I’m really looking forward to it. I’m camping and staying in a few hostels. I can’t wait to hear what you have to say about the free rooms and stuff. Peace.
Clancy Finchu – Canada
I’ve been following your biking advice for years and everything you’ve taught me has been ‘right on.’ Thank you for sharing your secrets!
Suzi Flanders - Whittier, California
Hey Darren, Thanks for the videos. They have been very helpful in getting me ready for my upcoming tour.
Fred Piumelli
Hey Darren, I am a big fan of your website. It has been so helpful for the planning of my first trip this summer. My friends and family are starting to check out your website. The more they know the more they feel better. I decided to go all out on my first trip. I want to go coast to coast in Canada. It is a big and long trip, but I have the time and determination. Your website has made me so excited to start my trip… thanks!!!
Shawn Corey Wright - Calgary, Canada
Hey Darren: I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your taking the time to sit down and go over what actually goes into the all the touring bags and how to pack them. Your commentary on placing all the bags in the same place both on the bike and off (in the tent) as well as putting everything inside the same bag every time has helped me a lot!! Please keep up the good work. I am anxious to see what you will do next.
Tom - Florence, South Carolina
I am continuing to enjoy your site/blog. I have viewed many if not all of your videos on touring and packing panniers, etc. for bike touring. You have definitely succeeded in getting me excited about this touring season. Thanks for all of the work that you do to video your trips and the excellent web site that you have. It is truly one of the best that is out there.
Malaika Sharp
(Before) Hey Darren, I just wanted to tell you how helpful your site has been. I’ve been doing a lot of research in preparation for my first ever bike tour (TransAmerica) and your site has been one of the best resources out there. Thanks for everything you do!
(After) I just arrived home from my bike trip today after a 3 day train ride home undoing all the cycling I did over the last two months. It was my first tour, from San Francisco to D.C., and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I’m looking forward to the next one. Thanks again for your help! Your advice proved invaluable on my tour and I hope you continue to inspire future generations of touring cyclists.
Boris Grogg
Kudos on the BEST Bike Touring site I’ve seen!
William Bruce
Finally there is a fantastic website on Bicycle Touring. Before I left on my first tour - I had absolutely no idea what to bring or what to expect. If only this website was around I wouldn’t have had so many ‘issues’. Darren is truly passionate about touring and that shows through on his site. If you are into Bike Touring - bookmark this site now so that you can get the items and support that you need.
Ted Schredd, Author of The Cycling Adventures Of Coconut Head
I love what you’re doing on your site. It’s fun to read, helpful, and very relational.
Susan Reed – Illinois
I really do want to thank you for all your great information. You’ve mentioned a lot of good stuff on your site. I found a great deal of information on how to pack my panniers. I will use this information on my rides. It’s kind of funny because I always thought I knew how to pack everything, but you showed me the proper way. I always enjoy going to your site. If I have any questions about touring and If I can’t find something I can e-mail you and get a very quick response. Thanks so much and keep up the great work!
Rick Jansheski
Thank you for being a part of the community here at BicycleTouringPro.com. I have a lot planned for the site and I’m excited to share it all with you. I hope to continue providing you with great content, useful information, and the inspiration you will need to successfully plan, prepare for, and execute your own bicycle adventure!
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Darren,
Here’s a picture of me and my trusted steed, a Gold Rush Replica, taken two weeks ago.
I toured self-contained, solo, for 712 miles in 7.5 days, averaging 94 miles per day.
In a large measure, your blog is the motivating factor in my decision to tour. I’ve ridden for several years, but never toured self-contained. I slept in a Hennessey Hammock. Great! Perhaps you could do a review of this product. I think others would be interested.
As soon as the current hurricanes leave the Florida area, I am touring to the panhandle of Florida, a distance of 450 miles. That will give me a tour this year of Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.
I also have 3 other tours planned for next year.
Thanks so much for your help.
The barn picture was taken in Amish Country in SE Michigan.
Bob Hopkins
Hillsboro, TN
Hello Darren. Just wanted to write that I wish you had been around years ago when I started cycling in ernest. I learned much over the years, but the trial and error method is a slow process. Even at 68 I am still learning. Recently moved from an upright to a recumbent trike (TerraTrike Tour), which I love. Within a month have ridden 700 miles (1,400 miles when added to my upright for the year). Thanks again.
Hey Darren,
I’ve been regularly visiting your website for the past couple months and wanted to let you know that I really appreciate the tips and advice. You’ve helped me plan my tentative tour for next summer - Chicago to Lake Superior and back!
-Dave.
Hey Darren,
My name is Ross Kestin. I stumbled across your web sites while perusing bikeforums.net.
You and I have a lot in common……with about 30 years difference. I did a fair amount of bicycle touring, but it was back in the early 80s and on into the early 90s. My two longest tours were from San Francisco to Los Angeles, but I also did a lot of “weekend” tours to San Diego, Oxnard, Ventura, Santa Barbara,etc. all from my Culver City base. I also have a degree in film and tv, and have been working at L.A. tv stations for 32 years, the last 28 at KABC-TV. I’m 57 years old, and hope to retire soon.
Unfortunately, my cycling miles took a big dive once life got in the way. Marriage, kids, home-ownership, serious illness, etc. have all had a detrimental effect on my cycling. Now, 25 years, I’m getting back into it. I never really stopped riding, but my mileage went from about 5,000 miles a year to about 500 miles a year. Fortunately my kids are nearly grown, and I have the time on my hands to do it again. It took me a month or so to get all my old bikes back in shape, and I’m back on the road again.
Anyway, I just wanted to take the time to compliment you on your web sites. They’re very well done, and I hope that you can make a decent living from them. Video gear was a lot heavier 25 years ago, or I might have done something similar. My dream, at the time, was to start a bicycling touring company. I wasn’t able to do that. Keep following your dream.
Best of luck to you.
Ross Kestin
Thanks for the website…my wife and I tandem and love Europe…we love the
Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria and have Italy in our sights for next
fall. We have bike camped but stay in motels mostly and I would like to
get into an everyother day camping regimen this coming spring…I don’t
like trailers, so a tandem with 4 pannier spots for two people etc becomes
a bit full, but we have managed…
I will check your website from time to time and be jealous of your
travels..larry