How A Bike Tour Can Change Your Life
Feb
Want to make a positive change in your life? Then you need to do something catastrophically different and break the pattern!
Think about it? I bet there’s been a moment in your life when you decided, for one reason or another, to stop doing what you were doing, and do something differently. Maybe it was quitting your job, moving to a new city, making new friends, building a new relationship, changing your eating habits, or whatever. Or maybe you’ve never made a major change in your life, but you look back on things now and wish that you had.
My name is Darren Alff and I am the Bicycle Touring Pro. For the last 17 years I have been riding my bicycle all around the world… and for the last ten years, I have been helping people from across the globe learn to conduct their own amazing bicycle touring adventures.
Bicycle touring has taught me a lot over the years, but I know that for me, some of the best things I’ve ever done in my life occurred when I decided I was going to break away from what I was doing… and start doing things differently.
For example: At the age of 17, shortly after graduating from high school, I went away from home for the first time in my life and rode my bike with three of my best friends down the California coastline – from Oregon to Mexico. Turns out, that month-long bike tour would be just the first of more than 17 years of bicycle touring adventures all around the world.
Then, at the age of 22, just one year after graduating from college, I quit my job as a sound mixer in Hollywood and I bought a house in the state of Utah and moved there with no job, no friends, no family and no plan. But it was that move from California to Utah that gave me the time and perspective I needed to create www.BicycleTouringPro.com – a project I’m extremely passionate about, and something that I believe, is making the world a better place.
Finally, after years of putting it off, I decided to sit down and write my book, “The Bicycle Touring Blueprint,” which I didn’t think anyone would be interested in at first, but which has now sold thousands and thousands of copies all around the world, and has helped thousands of people conduct the bicycle tour of their dreams.
So, that’s one of my big secrets for you: If you want your life to change, you’ve got to stop doing what you’re doing right now and do something catastrophically different.
For many of the people I talk to and consult with on a daily basis, that potentially life-altering thing that they want to do is a bicycle tour. A self-supported bicycle tour where they carry everything you need to survive on their bicycle for several days, weeks, months or years. It’s an exciting idea… and it’s something that appeals to a lot of people because it’s ultimately something that almost anyone can do – whether you’re young or old, rich or poor, and no matter where you happen to live in the world.
There are a lot of good reasons to go bicycle touring!
- Do something new
- Experience new places
- Make new friends
- Try new foods
- Get into nature
- Get away from the world
- Daydream
- Share a unique experience (with a loved one)
- Challenge yourself
- Get into shape.
- Whatever you want!
Maybe you’ve already considered the various reasons a bike tour might be an enjoyable and rewarding experience. And maybe you’ve even half-way considered making that catastrophic change in your life so that you can go off and conduct that once-in-a-lifetime bicycle tour you’ve been dreaming about? But if you’re like most people, you also have something, somewhere in the back of your head, that is preventing you from taking the leap and moving forward with your dream?
- Whether it’s money.
- Work.
- Pressure from friends or family.
- Personal obligations.
- Health issues.
- Fear.
- Or anything else.
If you’re like most people, you have something that is preventing you from making the leap and actually taking the steps necessary to live the dream you’ve held in the back of your mind for so long.
A big part of what I do at Bicycle Touring Pro has to do with teaching people about what kind of bike to ride, what kind of gear to use, how to map out a safe and enjoyable cycling route, and things of that nature. But an even bigger, more important part of my job, is helping people overcome the various mental and personal obstacles that they have that are preventing them from conducting the bike tour of their dreams.
So, in my next video, I’m going to give you some of my best pieces of advice, that you can use right away, to overcome any objections you, your friends, family or loved ones might have about conducting the bike tour you’ve been dreaming about. I’m going to tell you how to raise the money for your bike tour, how to get the time off work, how to temporarily or permanently release yourself from any obligations you might have that are holding you back, how to overcome your fears, and how to conduct a bike tour of any length – regardless of your age, income or health status.
So, stay tuned for that next piece of information – which will be released in just a couple days (on Tuesday, February 21, 2017).
In the meantime, could you please do me a quick favor?
Leave a comment below and let me know:
- What are your main reasons for wanting to go on a bike tour?
- What are the main things that are holding your back or preventing you from conducting the bike tour of your dreams?
Highly motivating
Looking forward to the next installment
I will be 69 in a few weeks and although I have bought the complete bike touring set-up I have yet to launch myself into the world of bike touring. My bike is a Raleigh Pioneer 2 which is a strong bike but a bit heavy at 16kg, but it’s all I could afford at the time.
My dog is my constant companion so I have to carry her in a trailer, which is fine on the flat but when I hit even a slight gradient it feels like I’m towing a sack of lead! Hopefully increased fitness will sort that problem out.
I want to get out into the wild country where I see hardly another soul for days on end (I’m not ant-social, it’s just that I love solitude sometimes).
I haven’t toured since my teens when I rode a cheap all steel bike that weighed a ton! I didn’t have a tent so I slept in barns, bus shelters and railway station waiting rooms.
My fears are that I might ‘break down’ physically and psychologically when I’m a long way from home, or that I might have to endure day after day of torrential rain where everything becomes wet and soggy, I’m not as ‘durable’ as I was when younger.I will have to wild camp due to being budget driven, so safety is also a major consideration. Although I’m not a coward, I might not fare too well if a bunch of youths came across my camp late at night and decided to have a little ‘fun’ with me.
I would love to hear your thoughts on these issues.
Eu desejo um novo estilo de vida, com liberdade para curtir as coisas boas e não o capitalismo selvagem das empresas.
Hi Darren, I love the outdoors,backpacking in the mountains, surfing a lot, and biking.I would love to tour on a bike. Finances are tough,time not a problem as of yet,My brother has set up a tour from San Diego to Georgia utilizing the mountains in between.I have a giant cypress dx I want to utilize.This trip will be late summer going stealth for 30 days, almost 3 thousand miles at 100 miles per day.I know thats a lot of miles and it will be hard to enjoy the ride with 10 hrs a day on the saddle. Panniers or extra wheel/bob or another type? So money is tight, health also an issue mostly my neck.If I do this I will probably do more with my wife in the future. Regards Ps. enjoy ur videos
May 1st first leg to East Coast Long Beach to coachella. Only storing a few important documents and clothes. Everything else will be sold or given away. Age 64 in July. Not to healthy. I ride everyday minimum 30 miles. Loaded panniers every time for the past year. I have a extreme desire to bug out. And be on my own for awhile. Going to visit my sisters in Kentucky and Florida. My route is non committal with no time restraints. Financially independent.And most of all in my element .When riding, watching and enjoying life. Even though if you remember my accident last july. With 8 fractures in my face and loss of skin in large areas. That never even came close to curbing my appetite for riding. San Gabriel mountain elevation loaded down kicked my butt. But i learned so many valuable things. About pace, mental stamina and knowing the pain goes away.
Thanks Darren for everything. You are very interesting to listen to. You are To the point. Don’t drag on and on about one issue. It was finally good in a sadistic way to see your face freezing off. Northern europe tour. Because Bicycle touring isn’t always a bowl of cherries.
I’m glad you’re doing better now Dennis… and you didn’t let your crash stop you. Be safe out there!
Thanks darren, valuable article, i want to read how to contribute money for bike travelling.
Darren,
Please put a Pay Pal donation button on one of your web pages. I love your work and energetic enthusiasm. I love watching your videos, learning and hearing all about your tours. I also realize this takes time to put all of this together and it is your job. To me this is worth something in return. I’m planning a cross country tour for next year on RT.66 and your videos have come in quite helpful. Thank you
I want to see Australia at a slow pace, feel the warmth, smell the nature, enjoy the country, talk to the locals and achieve my goals.
I’m held back by life’s dictates, time and money. On reaching retirement I now can start to get out there, all depends now on health and time.
I want to travel across New York State on the Erie Canal to my 45th high school reunion at the end of July this coming summer. The entire trip to and from home will be approximately 775 miles. Need to get into better shape! Love riding on my own with the freedom to go my own pace although sometimes I do like riding with others who push me a bit to progress.
Hello, how are you?, my name is Braulio and i want to tell you about my hobbie, riding bicycles.
I from Chile and does five years ago i did BMX, but what i actually do is MTB.
It is the best feeling, plus i studie ecotourism, a college career were i can mix physical activity with tourism.
You must enjoy your bike, it is a life style, use sustainables energies.
Thanks for the oportunity, bye.