Haley Smith: I could say Tucson wasn't fun, but it'd be a lie...

Well, it's been a week since I've returned to the frigid abyss that is a Kingston winter. I thought that (maybe) after a week back here I'd realize that winter really isn't that bad... but NOPE (insert Chuck Testa reference). Tucson proved to be the ideal place for a mountain biker looking for some base miles, and it was pretty tough for me to leave. I won't waste too much time complaining about the chilly white stuff all over the ground though; only about 60 more hours and I'll be off to California! It's a tough life.

So about Tucson... I flew down in the middle of January and met up with Mitch before we headed over to Antoine & Jeremy's who graciously allocated us some floor space (thanks for the airport pickup, by the way!). The next 10 days were filled with awesome riding (road and mountain), waaaaay too much frozen yogurt, and good times. We spent some time with these two American dudes (man, those guys talk funny ;) ) who definitely made the stay better. Needless to say, I really didn't want to come home. I may have to find a way to escape the entirety of winter next year, instead of just 10 days!

Anyways, I'll keep it short. Unfortunately, exams don't study for themselves (it'd be neat if they did though) so I should probably stop procrastinating. That is, after I clean my room. And maybe eat something. And probably watch an episode of Friends. Or maybe I'll just go to bed...

Managed to avoid the jersey tan, only to get a vest tan. Seems like I can never win!

Mitch, Antoine, and I went on an epic "adventure". Bars were eaten and life was contemplated. Mission accomplished.

I really don't have any words for Antoine's face in this picture hahaha

Ahhhh, that's better.

SUPER glad I paid all those baggage fees to ensure my bags made it. If you didn't pick up on the sarcasm, the airline lost my bags. Awesome.

Obligatory airplane photo. Being on top of the world is pretty neat, when you think about it.

Mile 0, Mt. Lemmon

Antoine told me mile 20 was the top... he lied.

Possibly my favourite picture of the trip. Just an all-around neat picture.

One more thing!

This past weekend ended up being pretty awesome, as I got to volunteer as a coach at the annual Women's Weekend at Joyride150! It was a sweet weekend full of riding, and dare I say I learned more than I taught! It's a really cool thing seeing so many women excited about riding. You ladies are awesome! Thanks to Joyride for putting on such a stellar event, and to all the other coaches that helped out - it was a great weekend!