It's been a little while since someone posted here, so I'll chime in since I'm new to Arizona!

I posted kind of an intro to myself here when I was looking for bike-buying advice, but just to summarize, I just moved to Tucson for grad school. I also have or have had family in Chandler, Peoria, Tempe, and Sun City West, and my boyfriend's parents have a condo in Fountain Hills, so I'm no stranger to the Phoenix area. I'm a Midwest transplant--I grew up right outside Chicago and lived in Madison, WI for 4 years of college.

I am, as of about 8 hours ago, the proud owner of a new Trek hybrid--a huge step up from my craptacular mountain bike that I had been riding for the last 8 years (the fact that the rust-bucket made it that long is beyond shocking). I'm hoping to become a cycling fiend as quickly as possible.

I haven't had a chance to look and see if there's a thread about it yet, but I'm considering doing the MS ride in Florence in March. (http://bikeaza.nationalmssociety.org/) I don't think I'd be ready for a 150-mile, 2-day event by March, but supposedly this year they're also doing century, 75-mile, and 35-mile one-day rides, and it sounds like a great event.

Anyway, looking forward to interacting with you all here and spending lots of time on the roads and trails in sunny AZ!