Welcome to Tucson

Well, as you can imagine by the fact that my last post was a few days ago and only 200 miles from Tucson, I made it.  I opted not to get up at dawn for the mere 3-hour drive and instead took my time and wound up arriving around 2:00.  Oddly, there was snow on the ground much of the early part of the ride and into the Arizona state line, but fortunately it was gone by the time I got to Tucson.  Once again the drive was painless, and although the weather wasn't normal Tucson weather as it was only in the 40's, the sun was out and of course it is due to warm up, so I wasn't concerned. 

First step was going into my new condo.  I found it without issue, and thanks to Google street view I knew what to look for.  I found the place from an ad on Craigslist, which we all know can be risky, but seems to have worked out ok.  Turns out the guy I'm subletting from has a sister who lives about 20 minutes from me back in New Hampshire, so she was the middle man in the key/money exchange, which was nice.  Also made me feel pretty secure that I was probably not giving the guy a check only to get scammed. 

So anyway, in I go and the place is quite nice and has a great view.  I really wish I could show you said view, but I forgot the cable that downloads the pictures from my digital camera to my lap top, so it will have to wait until I maybe go buy a new one.  I do want to keep this interesting and share some nice pictures.  But I can't just yet.  Of course even though the drive was as painless as could be considering the duration, and I really hadn't felt that tired, it was like as soon as I arrived I felt exhausted and the prospect of unpacking the car felt like someone had just asked me to do a double Ironman.  But of course, it had to be done, so I lugged three months worth of stuff upstairs.  At least I tend to pack light, so probably brought less than most might in my situation.  I did bring my cold weather riding and running gear, though.  I packed similarly when I was in Phoenix in '07, and while the majority of the time it's pretty decent, I know that sometimes it can get pretty cold. 

At that point I was torn between collapsing and the fact that I had no food with me.  The thought of getting in the car again seemed awful, but it had to be done.  At least there is a Super Walmart right around the corner.  I saved the big shopping for later and opted just for some essentials to get me through a day or two.  Then it was time to collapse for a bit.  On Sunday I ventured out for some workouts and signed up for where I'll be swimming for the next three months.  There is a YMCA less than a mile down the road with a gorgeous outdoor pool.  To top it all off the place is $30 a month cheaper than my gym back home and there was no joining fee due to a January special.  I feel silly signing up for a new gym on January second, I feel like saying no, I swear it's not a resolution thing! 

So I was set and ready to go.  Yesterday morning I was up bright and early and drove the 3 minutes down the road to the Y and hopped in the pool.  The pool itself is a nice 82 degrees, although the 30-degree air is a bit rough when it comes to getting in and out.  Still, a small price to pay when you get to swim under the stars.  I realize I could've waited until later when it was warmer, but that's not the way I like to do things.  A nice weight workout and I was done early for the day and ready for some more serious grocery shopping. 

Today it was back to the pool again and then I had a pretty substantial ride to get in.  Of course I didn't really know where to go, but I'm pretty good at Google.  So I searched Tucson bike routes, found a couple that were near enough to where I live and off I went.  It's not incredibly warm here just yet, maybe in the 50's, but as long as the roads aren't snow and ice, I'm probably doing pretty ok.  And to top it off, I didn't get lost!  I nearly lost a water bottle that was pointed out to me at a stoplight by a passing motorist, but otherwise it was a good start.  The roads here are not exactly in the best condition, but again, the weather is decent which is a lot more than I can say for things back home.  And the roads were pretty quiet, which is obviously a good thing.  So the beginning of my adventure is going pretty well.  Only 12 weeks to go.