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PAST BIKE FRIDAY DESERT CAMP MULTIMEDIA REPORTS As of 2007 the camp is now a recreational Historic Hotel Tour. READ THE REPORT ON THE 2008 CAMP includes Mine Tour, Bisbee Bike Brothel READ THE REPORT ON THE 2007 CAMP | Email invite to the 'Tour of Historic Towns and Hotels' READ THE REPORT on the 2006 CAMP See clips on YouTube READ THE REPORT on the 2005 CAMP -- Buy the 2005 Desert Camp DVD! |
CAMP MESSAGE BOARD Share opinions, rides/to from camp here
NEW FOR 2008, when this sell-out tour will include *TWO* nights in historic artsy Bisbee staying at the fabulous Copper Queen Hotel, the favorite of the 50 riders in the 2007 tour. Registrations open now, email info@pactour.com, call (262)-736-2453 (BIKE)
2008 Itinerary
Day 1 Tucson Mount Lemmon Loop 33-50
Day 2 Tucson to Patagonia's Historic Hotel 66 miles
Day 3 Patagonia to Tombstone's OK Corral 57 miles
Day 4 Tombstone to the Bisbee Copper Queen Hotel with an optional side trip into Mexico 40 miles
Day 5 Bisbee to Douglas for lunch and return to Bisbee 55 miles
Day 6 Bisbee to Benson 45 miles
Day 7 Benson back to Tucson 55 miles
Bike Friday welcomes all their customers to join this fun tour. See http://www.bikefriday.com/desertcamp for multimedia reports of previous Bike Friday Desert Camps."
The riders at this camp will range from beginner to experienced. All riders should be able to ride 50 miles in 5 hours with stops.
ABOUT THIS TOUR
"Just knowing I'm going to be in Arizona in March, makes all of February feel better!"
Take it from a north-easterner, Andrejs Ozolins, Bike Friday Club of Ithaca leader and veteran of two PACTOUR camps. He loves his hometown but knows when to fold 'em and fly south ... "It's usually when my water bottles freeze over and the heating bill costs more than my übertech rainjacket."
YEE-HAAAAH ... saddle up for the Bike Friday Arizona Desert Camp, now an all-new format from 2007. Cross-country legends and Bike Friday adopters Lon Haldeman and Susan Notorangelo present a 'more fun than fast' week especially designed with history and adventure-loving Bike Friday folks in mind.
Lon and Susan are loved by cyclists-in-the-know for their personal touch and years of experience training cyclists for Race Across America and leading atypical bicycle tours to out-there places like Alaska and Peru.
This tour is a departure from their high mileage format in the name of F.U.N., so invite your big wheel friends and family members. With a sightseeing and kicking-back bent, the tour will be particularly enjoyable for couples and families, even for partners who aren't riding.
This is a 53-miles a day (average), scenic tour of small-town 'Saguaro Country' staying in some quaint, historic hotels with breakfast, lunch, snacks, accommodation, seminars, souvenirs and support all included.
Your gear is transported from inn to inn, with friendly distances of 40-60 miles. Bisbee is a treat, Tombstone is a trip, and we won't be blowing by them this year - you'll stop and smell (and sit down and eat) the enchiladas.
You can shop for shiny southern souvenirs by day and by night, listen to entertaining and informative seminars by camp coaches and star guest speakers.
Past guest speakers include Human Powered Vehicle world champion and Bike Friday engineer/designer, Rob English, loveable cycling guru and historian Jim Langley, co-founder of Bike Friday Alan Scholz, Torch Meister Peter Kaspar, and Bike Friday Customer Evangelist the Galfromdownunder. What better thing to do on a freezing Friday than ride through momentous volcano, cliff and cactus country under the crisp Arizona winter sun?
 GOT CACTUS? Book by December 15 to get a Desert Camp Limited Edition Jersey - each year a collector's item. Pictured: the 2007 Jersey. Email info@pactour.com or call PACTOUR on (262)-736-2453 (BIKE) NOW. AYou can see the full rider list at the PACTOUR website under Arizona Desert Camp, Week 3. PACTOUR are looking for 40 registered riders for the price to be held at $935 (otherwise the cost will be $100 more per rider). There are only 45 spots so make sure your saddle is registered! Like to share your travels with the fold? If you have a captivating slideshow about what you did on a Friday that you'd like to share with the group one evening, please contact Lynette Chiang lynchiang at yahoo dot com so we may discuss it. |
Lon brings riders who happen to be drafting him to Dot's Diner in Bisbee to be served by Kirstin, the grand dame of malt milkshakes...
Itinerary for WEEK #3: BIKE FRIDAYTOUR OF HISTORIC TOWNS AND HOTELS, ARIZONA
Each day we will head to a new and unique destination filled with southwest history. This tour is for riders who are looking for a fun cycling experience without a focus on training and fitness. This is the easiest tour of the PACTOUR Desert Camp format. Riders will enjoy this tour more if they can average 10 mph so they will have more time to explore the sights along the way - Lon Haldeman
Here are some notes on the towns we visit:
Patagonia's Historic Hotel - Patagonia is a nice town cradled in a canyon with lots of green vegetation, and is a base for a lot of bird watching groups. Mexicans like to walk north through this area and enjoy the wildlife.
Tombstone's OK Corral - Tombstone is one laid back yee-hah cow town with a mock shoot out for the rickly of tourists that go there instead of Universal Studios in Hollywood. A great place to buy a belt with a big, loud, western buckle!!
Bisbee and the Copper Queen Hotel - Bisbee is famous for copper mining and other minerals. Mule Pass is named for the 20 mules who pulled one wagon at a time up this steep but very bikeable grade. Our Copper Queen Hotel is one of the most elegant places we'll be staying. Dot's Diner and the Shady Dell trailer park with the cute baby Airstream hotel rooms is right down the road.
Douglas/Gadsden Hotel day trip and Mexico side trip - Gadsden is famous for processing the mined ore from Bisbee. The Hotel Gadsden, celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, is just 6 blocks from the Mexican Border. We can cross over to enter a different world. Bring your passport to enter the USA again.
Benson - our unhistoric hotel of the tour, a Motel 8 in a sea of pavement. A perfect antidote to all the preceding glitz and glamor, with an excellent homey Italian restaurant a few blocks away opposite Safeway as the one saving grace. This paragraph was not supplied by PACTOUR
Camp fee includes twin share accomodation, breakfast, lunch, snacks, rides, seminars, all riding, a grab bag of cycling goodies and a souvenir Columbia travel shirt. Single supplement $250. Ask PACTOUR about getting you a room buddy if you need one.
*** PLEASE sign up directly with PACTOUR ***
www.pactour.com
Email: info@pactour.com, Phone: 262-736-2453 (BIKE)
Lon and Susan have come up with a brand new, stop-and-smell-the- enchiladas kind of Arizona Desert Camp just for BF folks. They've seen how most of us Friday folk aren't 100% jazzed about doing day in day out hammer sessions of 80-120 miles into a vanishing point. So check out Week 3 below, Tour of Historic Hotels and Inns, with friendly distances of 40-60 miles and let then know if you'd like to participate in March 2007. We need at least 35 folks for it to happen. This will be right up our allies, I feel. Bisbee is a treat, Tombstone is a trip, and we won't be blowing by them on this tour. Besides, what better way to escape the snow and sleet for a week? Register your interest now by raising your hand and emailing info@pactour.com or call him (262) 736-2453 (BIKE). To get a feel for the scenery see the links below. - Lynette Chiang, BF Customer Evangelist |
 42 minute action DVD movie of the 2005 Camp, shot by The Galfromdownunder, available from the Bike Friday online store or directly by calling 1-800-777-0258, email service@bikefriday.com |
 * WOMEN: Come and be inspired by tour co-leader Susan Notorangelo. From the RAAM site: Susan Notorangelo of Sharon, WI raced RAAM five times and won twice, is the first premier female ultra rider, a role model for many aspiring ultra riders. With her husband, Lon, she holds the mixed tandem transcontinental record. With Lon she has led over 62 PAC Tours across America. These tours have introduced many riders to ultra cycling. Susan and Lon’s practical advice has been used by thousands of cyclists. Susan and Lon served as race directors of RAAM in 2000-2002. Her knowledge, skills, and background have helped make the ultra-cycling community an incredible family of people and helped to inspire many to realize their dreams. Photo borrowed with profound thanks from the BC Randonneurs Cycling Club |
Ride under the instruction of twice RAAM champ and Coast to Coast Tandem record holder Lon Haldeman at the first ever BF Training Camp. More photos
What is PACTour?
PACTOUR (Pacific-Atlantic-Cycling Tour) was started in 1981 by cross country record holders Susan Notorangelo and Lon Haldeman as a way to offer the long distance cyclist the ultimate cycling vacation. Lon and Susan offer their experiences from over fifty transcontinental rides to make your PACTour as smooth as possible. The support staff is made up of the most professional individuals including many former Race Across America veterans.
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Lon also leads a 12-day trip to Peru, with Machu Picchu and Schoolbuilding options - at a slightly more relaxed pace. Details
Emailable link to this article: www.bikefriday.com/desertcamp