I'm wondering what would be good times/months for my next CC trip. I plan to start in San Diego, then head east via AZ, NM, TX, LA, MS, AL, GA, then north back to MA. I've done CC trips in May, June and July(northern and mid USA), but have never ridden the deep south. The heat doesn't bother me too much as I lived in AZ for a couple of years and have experienced desert riding. It's the severe weather that I'd like minimize. I appreciate the input! Dave

 

can only speak about the SE. Tx east. Spring is front influenced and can be kind of timed if you watch the systems passing. Later spring thru early summer is Thunder storm time. Often pop up suddenly and unannounced. Fall is usually longer dry spells.

Bugs are an important issue. Love bugs across East TX thru MS, at least...google em. All bugs can be bad and late into evening riding can be dangerous..... windshield or face covered.

 

May, before the heat hits.

You can't plan a trip months in advance worrying about what the weather might be.

For the most part, it isn't even worth rerouting a trip once you have hit the road to avoid weather. The reroute will take longer than waiting out the storm.

Personally, my best luck has been keep riding and ride through a front and put it behind you.

Only once have I rerouted a trip due to weather and I ran north hard and fast to get away from record southern heat just to hit and ride a storm front for 300 miles. Damned if I do reroute and damned if I didn't...

 

Just get a good rain suit and stop for the big storms. Most of the time you will be following the storms or staying out ahead of them. It's not really a big problem. The heat on the Gulf Coast is nothing like the desert. The humidity is very high. I like riding at night when it's hot. July and August are very hot.

Well ventilated clothing and sun screen.

These are awesome.. http://www.columbia.com/mens-pfg-tam...Shirts&start=0

 

South Texas's ( I10 through San Antonio) normal "rainy" season is May and June, the hottest time is late July, early August into September. But be prepared for anything anytime

 

October / November is our usual "Dry Spell" and best riding weather in Louisiana, assuming we do not catch a late hurricane. This year the Fall has been unusually wet and warm, but those two months are my absolute favorite months to ride down here.

 

Texas generally has violent thunderstorms in the spring and early summer. Tornadoes are more prevalent at the time also.

So the best time to pass through Texas is late September and October. The heat has usually backed off by then and there aren't as many thunderstorms.

I live in the DFW area and rode down to the Hill Country in mid October of this year. Perfect riding weather. Just try to avoid late June July, August and early September.

 

I forgot to mention in my previous post that it's hard to compare Arizona heat to Texas heat. In Arizona the air is very dry so your sweat evaporates quickly and cools your body. In Texas the humidity is usually very high, many times it's over 90%, so you can't get cool because your sweat can't evaporate.

I was in Tempe one time for a week long seminar. The highest temp we saw was 120 which felt about like 90 here at home. You can definitely tell the difference that humidity makes.

 

Speaking from lots of experience in LA, MS, AL, spring is thunderstorm time. This spring we had big rains just about each day throughout the spring. If you can avoid the rain during that time the weather is great. July, August and into Sept your are going to face 95-100 degree days pretty consistantly. I think this year in MS we had 30+ days in a row during that time with 95+, most days around 100 and 90% humidity with no rain to speak of for a couple months. I have spent time in AZ as well and will honestly tell you the heat in AZ and the gulf coast states does not compare. Here we can see 100 degrees and 90% humidity, that means if you walk outside and stand under a shade tree for 5 mins you look like you have been sprayed with a hose. Dec-Feb you can see 60 degree days maybe even 70, 2 days later you have highs of 30-40 for a few days.

My suggestion would be
Mid April - June after the spring rains and before the dog days of summer.
Oct-Nov - Usually its not that cold during that time with probably and average of mid 60's. For example currently our 10 day shows days ranging from 52-69 with most days around the mid 60s

As a side note most of the big storms in the gulf coast area are going to travel West to East

 

Thanks guys. I appreciate all of the good information. I've got some thinking and planning to do. Planning and thinking about bike trips help get me through the winters here in the northeast. Gives me something great to look forward to!