Information gathering: Tucson

[Catrin]

I guess the finger- and toe-crossing worked. I got the offer letter in my e-mail this afternoon.

Must.not.hyperventilate...

Wooooot! Congratulations!

[PinkBike]

congrats! will we see you at el Tour de Tucson in November?

[Owlie]

congrats! will we see you at el Tour de Tucson in November?

I would love to do it one day. If I end up going to UA (it's my only offer so far, but I have an interview later this month with another school), it'll probably be 2014. Between me trying to finish my thesis, moving across the country mid-season (so, having to pack both my bikes) to a new city and classes, I probably won't have much time to ride.

[Owlie]

Done. I've signed the paper and sent it. Tucson, here I come! (gulp)

[indysteel]

Awesome, Owlie! Congrats!

[OakLeaf]

I hadn't looked in on this thread before - congrats and good luck Owlie!

[Dogmama]

Today will be 75-80 degrees and sunny. Night time temps 50 degrees. Welcome!

[spokewench]

Wonderful! Maybe I will run into you when I am down visiting my sister and Mom. By the way, my sister is a professor at U of A.

[azfiddle]

Congrats Owlie! We have a new women's "team" (non-competitive) you might consider joining if you have time.

PM me if you no longer have my contact info. It will be nice to see you again.

Sharon

[thekarens]

Tucson, a great area for birding...my other passion. Congrats!

[Red Rock]

Here is to wishing you well in the last of your schooling and this semester. Hope your move goes well without incident so you can get some riding in before your back at it again.

Red Rock

[Owlie]

Thank you!
It's just started to dawn on me that I have to move in...three months. Yikes. My family is helping with the apartment search, as are DBF and his family, but since none of us are really familiar with the area, we're running into a wall...beyond "Holy cow, it's expensive there!" (Coming from Ohio, though, everything's expensive!)
Tucsonians (?), can you offer tips on relatively inexpensive but safe places to live, preferably a little further out from the university (so I can avoid undergrads), but within reasonable cycling distance? (I'm okay with something like a 10-mile round or less.)

[azfiddle]

Owlie, PM me and I can try to help out with that.

[Dogmama]

East of the UA are more residential areas. I would check there first. It is within biking distance. There is a bike path (runs East/West) that is a few miles north of the UA and is easily reached using Mountain Ave (which runs north/south) - which is a popular biking street with dedicated biking areas. Mountain Ave feeds right into the heart of the UA. Anyway, taking Mountain Ave north and then turning right (east) you can go about 10 miles and find lots of residential areas.

I live about 6 miles from UA and can bike there faster than taking a car in rush hour. Parking at UA is a premium and expensive. If you have a beater bike with a good U lock, you'll be fine. You can bike almost year round since we don't get much rain. For the really cold or rainy days (three, I think ) the city bus service to UA is good. Our buses also have bike racks on the front.

Let me know how I can help.

[thekarens]

Congrats Owlie! I'm a little jealous. The bird watching in that area is excellent. It's top of our list for retirement areas. :-)