The Shady Dell in Bisbee is one quaint motel where the rooms are baby Airstreams and teardrop trailers ... now come on, you've always wanted a baby Airstream ...

by The Galfromdownunder

"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 in its 4th great year and an all-new format for 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 (on 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.

This year you'll hob nob with luminaries like Human Powered Vehicle world champion and recent addition to the Bike Friday team, Rob English, and loveable cycling guru and historian Jim Langley, plus the 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?

Book by December 15 to get the Desert Camp '07 Limited Edition Jersey - each year a collector's item

Email info@pactour.com or call PACTOUR on (262)-736-2453 (BIKE) NOW.

As at November 20, already 23 riders from as far as Canada and South Africa have registered for this camp. You 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 - and your sweetheart's - saddles are 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.

Tie your tandem up to a post in Tombstone, pardner! Bill and Ann Moriarty at Desert Camp 2004.

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..

PACTOUR ON A FRIDAY. The PACTOUR gang Susan Notorangelo, Debbie Henning (crew), Lon Haldeman and Rebecca Haldeman test out their trailers in Harvard near their hometown, Sharon, Wisconsin, in preparation for their Costa Rica adventure, 2006.

Ahhhh, 70 degrees and sunny Arizona!