Categories
Uncategorized

Fostering Granny

Over the past three months, I’ve taken it upon myself to provide a temporary home for a 10-year-old street cat named “Granny.”

When I first laid eyes on this small, gray cat, it was evident that her journey through life had been a difficult one. She was covered in sizable hair mats, causing her immense pain, while, at the same time, the battle scars from her encounters with fellow felines covered her entire body. The adoption agency, with whom I dedicate my time, revealed that Granny was afflicted with FeLV and FIV (Feline AIDS) and she was pulling out her own hair due to the stress of being in the adoption center with so many other animals. To compound her troubles, a small wound marred her right eye, casting uncertainty upon her visual prowess… and it was my responsibility to give Granny a daily dose of eye drops.

Nevertheless, I resolved to mend Granny’s broken spirit. With gentle determination, I removed every last tangled strand of hair, and each day, I attended to her wounds, soothing her damaged skin with coconut oil baths that covered her entire body.

From the outset, Granny exuded a tranquil nature – a companion who found solace in my presence regardless of my occupation: whether I was immersed in work, succumbing to sleep, indulging in a meal, or simply captivated by the flickering glow of a television screen. Her desire for closeness knew no bounds, and if allowed, she would embrace the comfort of a cuddle for hours on end.

While I’d love to keep Granny by my side indefinitely, I have made the difficult decision to return her to the adoption agency, hoping that she will find a permanent home within our community. If you are interested in making Granny yours, please contact Nuzzles and Co. in Park City, Utah: www.nuzzlesandco.org

She’s a wonderful cat with a mostly calm (but sometimes playful) temperament and I’m really going to miss her.

Categories
Uncategorized

I Gave The Cat Back

Fostering a kitten

I recently had the opportunity to foster a sick kitten… and even though I thought that fostering a cat would be a nice way for me to help another animal (and people in my community), things did not exactly turn out the way I expected them to.

During the three weeks I had Gus Goose in my care, the tiny black cat shit absolutely everywhere, stank up my entire home, blew hundreds of boogers on me, refused to eat most of the food I served her, scratched me and made me bleed on multiple occasions, and was generally a total pain to take care of.

Even with all of that being said… Gus Goose was such a nice cat! She was seriously so sweet, so quiet, so patient, and so cuddly. When she wasn’t farting, pooping, and blowing boogers in my face, she was seriously the BEST CAT ever! I loved cuddling with her… but then she’d dribble poop on me or shoot a snot rocket all over my sofa, and I’d be forced to put her back in her cage and clean up the mess.

Caring for this sick cat (who was suffering with both diarrhea and an upper respiratory track infection) was a lot like my relationship with people:

  • I thought it would be nice to have some company.
  • It was fun for about three-and-a-half-minutes.
  • Then reality hit (and the “cat” blew boogers all over me, farted, pooped and stank up my entire house)!
  • And in the end, I realized I was better off alone.

Yes, I returned the cat to the adoption agency. Her conditions were not improving and they wanted to have a veterinarian look at her again to see if there was anything else they could do. But after Gus Goose saw the vet, I was asked to continue caring for her… and, even though it pained me (and I felt really bad about it), I politely said, “No.”

I wanted to help. I really did. And even though I kinda loved this little black kitten, I hated the experience of caring for her overall.

People had warned me before I signed up to be a foster, that I might fall in love with the animal I was given, and I’d want to keep it forever. But the reality is… fostering this little, black kitten made me realize that I don’t want a pet of any kind (at least not, permanently).

  • Maybe I haven’t found the right “cat” yet? Maybe the next one will be better?

Categories
Uncategorized

Moab Slickrock

This weekend I traveled to Moab, Utah for a friend’s big birthday bash.

Actually, it was just me, my friend (Bryan (the birthday boy)), his wife (Auste), and their 15-month-old baby girl (Hazel) who went to Moab in order to celebrate Bryan’s birthday. I was invited on the trip, I think, so Auste could stay in the townhouse we rented and watch the baby, while Bryan would have a friend with him to explore the city and its nearby trails via mountain bike.

After the long drive to Moab, we checked into a really nice townhouse on the city’s south side. Winter is the slow reason in Moab, so lodging rates are low and few tourists are in the city – The best time to visit!

We spent three nights in Moab and did a whole host of activities while we were there: We went out to eat at several local restaurants, explored many of Moab’s small parks and shops (including the Moab Rock Shop), played multiple games of Carcassonne, ate ice cream and pumpkin cookies, played with the baby (and tried to keep her feedings and naps on schedule each day), explored Arches National Park, plus a whole lot more!

The highlight of the trip, however, was when Bryan and I spent a few hours biking the world-famous Slickrock mountain bike trail on the outskirts of downtown Moab.

This unique mountain bike ride takes place on 95% rock, with the remaining 5% crossing through sand and shallow washes. The views were super nice in some sections, and I enjoyed the technical aspects of this iconic ride.

There were few smooth sections to the trail, however, and I think that if I had been tasked with designing this trail, I could have possibly picked a better route on my own. But overall, I enjoyed the trail for what it is – a 10+ mile mountain bike ride over rock, stone and sand. Not the best mountain bike ride I’ve ever done in my life, but certainly one that I’ll remember!

I didn’t include any photos of Auste or the baby, because I know they would rather I not publish such photos online. So, here instead, are a few other photos from my weekend in Moab, Utah.

Categories
Uncategorized

CODA

The first movie I watched at this year’s Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah was a film called “CODA,” which actually premiered as part of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, but never premiered in person in Park City because of the COVID Pandemic.

My friend Madison went to see the film with me… and we were both blown away with how good it was. By the movie’s end, we were both crying and in total awe.

CODA is the story of a high-school girl named Ruby who has deaf parents and a deaf brother… but she can hear. And because she can hear, she plays a vital role in connecting her family with the rest of the world. She works on the family’s fishing boat, she translates for her family members when they go into public, and she acts as her family’s constant connection to the hearing world.

But when Ruby decides that she wants to go to college and study music, her family doesn’t understand. Not only can they not hear music themselves (or comprehend why Ruby would want to devote her life to an artwork that they can’t personally appreciate), but her family depends on her for their survival.

So, what does she do? Stay with her family and give up her dream? Or chase her dream and abandon the family who so desperately needs her?

I loved this film because it really made me think: How much do you owe to your family members? And how much do they owe to you?

I especially enjoyed the part of the film where Ruby is singing up on stage in front of her entire school and, as her parents sit in the audience, the sound goes out… and for a brief moment you get to experience what it’s like to be deaf – to see people moving around in total silence, smiling and dancing, but unable to actually hear or appreciate the sound.

This part of the film seriously had me in tears. It was devastating and eye-opening in the best kind of way.

If you have not yet watched CODA, this is seriously one of the best movies I’ve seen in years… and it might just be one of my favorite movies of all time. It was seriously that good!

CODA world premiered in the 2021 Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. Dramatic Competition section where it won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic, Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic, Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic, and Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Cast.

Categories
Uncategorized

Gus Goose

Black Cat in garden

I thought it would be nice to temporarily foster a cat/kitten while I’m home in Park City, Utah this winter, so I signed up as a volunteer with my local pet rescue and adoption agency – Nuzzles & Co.

Shortly after telling the agency that I’d be happy to foster a feline for them, I was contacted by the company and told that there was a sick kitten who needed some care until she was well enough to be adopted.

I said I’d be happy to foster the little black kitten, whom the agency had named, “Gus Goose.”

Nuzzles & Co. provided me with everything I’d need to care for my sick kitten: food, medications, a litter box, toys, and a whole lot more.

On the drive home with Gus Goose in the back of my van, I heard a loud “squirt” and was immediately forced to roll down my windows to let out the noxious air that was pouring into my nostrils.

I quickly found out that poor little Gus Goose has been suffering with diarrhea, a leaky bunghole, and an upper respiratory infection (Causing her to deal with both eye and nose mucus, which she forcefully hurls from her face on a regular basis. These are some seriously big boogers – let me tell you!).

I’ve had Gus Goose (whom I now call “Booger”) in my care for almost two weeks, and she is seriously the friendliest little cat. All she wants to do is cuddle. If you’re in the room, she’ll be there, rubbing up against you or trying to get your attention so you can stroke her head, neck or belly.

She’s still dealing with pretty bad diarrhea and those nasty facial boogers, but her attitude has improved greatly since I first got her. She acts like a totally healthy cat! We just need to fix her insides and then she’ll be the perfect little kitten for some local family to adopt here in the near future.

Categories
Uncategorized

School Bus Driver

This winter, after selling my business, I wanted to do something totally different (in the community and away from my computer), so I applied to work as a substitute school bus driver for my local school district.

I had no experience driving a bus of any kind when I applied for the role, but the job listing said they’d train me. So, I applied… was interviewed and hired a couple weeks later… and then my training began!

I had to take two weeks of classroom training (where I watched cheesy educational videos for days-on-end) and then had an additional two weeks of on-the-road training, where I was slowly introduced to the intricacies of driving a long, heavy vehicle in all sorts of road and traffic conditions.

I had no idea when I first took this job that there was so much to driving a school bus! Not only do you have to know how to operate an over-sized vehicle in all sorts of traffic and weather conditions (we get a lot of snow up here in the mountains of Utah), but you also have to learn how to manage schoolchildren (ages 4-18); interact with parents; and communicate with teachers, school administrators and other school bus drivers.

There are seating charts to enforce; kids stand and run around the bus on a daily basis; there’s screaming and the occasional fight; crying and vomit; snowball fights and trash; students with special needs and dietary restrictions; kids slip and fall getting in and out of the bus; parents want to speak with you about their child’s behavior; plus, there’s the ever-present danger of accidentally running over a child who might be running after or stepping away from the bus – which is super scary to even think about!!!

There are seriously so many things to consider as a school bus driver… and you have a lot of responsibility! You’re not only driving a vehicle that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars (paid for by local taxpayers), but you’re also responsible for the lives of dozens of schoolchildren.

Now, I’m only working as a substitute school bus driver at the moment, so I can basically choose my own hours and work whenever I want (which is exactly what I was looking for in my first part-time job since selling my business).

Being a school bus driver has been fun… and tiring… and rewarding. I’ve enjoyed the process of learning a new skill (driving the bus) and the daily challenge of learning my kids’ names, getting them to follow the rules, stay in their seats, and remain safe throughout their rides to and from school each day.

I used to spend my days traveling around the world on a bicycle… and now I spend at least some of my time driving schoolchildren around town on a giant yellow bus. It’s interesting how quickly your life can change!

Categories
Uncategorized

The Spice Drawer

organized spice drawer

This is super silly, but one of my recently-completed projects is this spice drawer in my home. Doesn’t it look good!?!

When I was growing up, my parents kept their spices in a small cabinet located above the oven, but every time you wanted a particular spice, you had to remove practically every single container in the cabinet in order to find the spice you wanted. And for a while, I lived with a messy and disorganized spice cabinet like that in my own home – because that’s the only way I knew to keep the spices stored in my kitchen.

But now that I have my own home, I decided to finally do something to organize the spices in my kitchen and improve the experience of cooking for myself.

I used this “Spice Jars & Labels Kits” from Amazon to make this project happen. Simply pour your existing spices, one-by-one, into the provided glass jars and then use the kit’s included labels to identify each of the spices in your possession.

Categories
Uncategorized

77 Inches Deep

We’ve been getting sooo much snow this winter here in Park City, Utah. In the last 24 hours we’ve received 11 inches of fresh powder; in the past three days we’ve gotten more than 30 inches of snow; and they’re reporting as much as 77 inches of the white stuff at the top of the mountain (at nearby Park City Mountain Resort).

I spent New Year’s Day mostly inside the house – installing new recessed LED lights in my living room. Once it got dark and I could no longer work inside, I went for a solo hike in the dark on one of the many snow-covered trails in my neighborhood. The snow was up to my waist (or above) on occasion!

Categories
Uncategorized

The End of an Era

I started the website: www.bicycletouringpro.com in the autumn of 2007 and have worked relentlessly since that time to build the website, the YouTube channel and my book, The Bicycle Touring Blueprint, into one of the most popular and informative bike travel brands on the Internet. My work as the Bicycle Touring Pro was not only a passion project, it was my life!

But over the past several years, and since developing cancer in 2016, I’ve spent a lot of time wondering if this whole “bicycle touring” thing was something I should continue to do.

The truth is… yes, many of the best moments in my life have come from traveling the world on the back of a bicycle. But my time on the road has also been incredibly lonely.

As the Bicycle Touring Pro, I would often spend months by myself, traveling through foreign countries where I did not speak the language and could not converse with the locals, only to then be working in an environment (on the Internet) where I was doing everything by myself – once again, with very little human interaction.

There’s no ONE reason I came to the decision I did, but I ultimately decided to move on from my work as a professional bicycle traveler.

Approximately three months ago (in the autumn of 2022), I handed over the reigns of my mini “bike travel” empire to a young man named Sam. Watch the video above for a detailed explanation of who Sam is, why I decided to move on from Bicycle Touring Pro, and what I ultimately plan to do in the future.

The reality is… I don’t know what I want to do now that I’m not a professional cyclist / vlogger / Internet entrepreneur. But now that I’m no longer working on Bicycle Touring Pro, I have the time and freedom to pursue other things, which is, honestly, something I’ve been very much obsessed with since I started traveling by bike – THE FREEDOM.

So, after years of inactivity, I’m re-activating my personal website: www.darrenalff.com and will be posting here with new photos and videos from my everyday life… and chronicling my adventures as a “normal person.”