Colorado to Nevada in July/August. - Ride at midnight?
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Colorado to Nevada in July/August. - Ride at midnight? - 5/20/2008 10:05:30 AM
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Lopoetve
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So my friends and I are planning a trip to Nevada in July/Aug. I'm only going out for part of it, so I thought I'd take the bike (from Colorado to Las Vegas). Obviously mid-day will be scorching hot, so what I'm thinking about is this: Sleep the afternoon, take off a little after midnight or the like, and ride through to the morning, try to get to Las Vegas around noon or so.
Question is, anyone tried this? How well does it work? How hot is it really around there during that time of year?
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RE: Colorado to Nevada in July/August. - Ride at midni... - 5/20/2008 10:13:27 AM
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grimm
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i don't know what the critters are like around your neck of the woods, but around here, once the sun goes down, deer like to dart out in front of you. just sayin....be careful.
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RE: Colorado to Nevada in July/August. - Ride at midni... - 5/20/2008 10:14:26 AM
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CndUltra95
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Watch out for Deer, Cattle and other animals that may also like to trvedl in the the coolest part of the night.
Not to mention them 18 wheeers that are pounding the pavement then as well.
Hope this gives you some insite.
Rob
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RE: Colorado to Nevada in July/August. - Ride at midni... - 5/20/2008 11:18:45 AM
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sortasuave
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Those two months are some of the hotter time of the year in Vegas. I'm with the rest of the guys here. I personally would not spend a lot of time riding at night in these regions due to the critters on the road.
Are you hoping to do this ride in one day or over the course of a couple of days. Personally if I were going to do this sort of trip, I would "split the difference with you". I'd make tracks as the sun is coming up and ride till it got too hot. The hottest time of the day will generally start around 2 PM. Figuring that the sun is up at 5:30 ish at that time of the year, that would give you quite a few hours in the saddle and make the trip pretty doable in 2 days.
Last but not least... And I know you know this, but.... make sure your carrying water. Personally I would carry a gallon minimum.
Best of luck to you on your trip!
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RE: Colorado to Nevada in July/August. - Ride at midni... - 5/20/2008 11:28:48 AM
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tinker
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I rode from Flagstaff AZ to Barstow CA in 115 degree heat a couple of years back. It was bad... but not THAT bad. Keep hydrated - and oddly as it may sound, I found using a white or light colored long sleave t-shirt was best. I've heard of people buying bags of ice from the grocery store and strapping them to their handlebars - the water spray as the ice melts is supposed to help.
oh - duh - and sun screen. LOTS of sun screen.
Ride in the day time, it's safer and not that big of a deal.
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RE: Colorado to Nevada in July/August. - Ride at midni... - 5/20/2008 11:47:59 AM
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Buddha4
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Not sure how eager I would be wanting to ride some of the passes at night. There are enough switchbacks that can make daytime riding inderesting are you taking I70 to I15? Also keep in ming you could get some pretty good temp drops so you're certainly needing to be wearing some heavy clothes. A couple of years ago I road Rocky Mountain National park was 85 in Denver and low 40s after driving US 34 to the peak
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RE: Colorado to Nevada in July/August. - Ride at midni... - 5/20/2008 12:20:16 PM
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Lopoetve
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yeah, planning I70 to I15 straight in. I've got a couple of camelbaks I'm planning on carrying - 1.5 gallons of water total, stopping every 100 miles or so to refil, refuel, and rest. I don't mind taking plenty of time to get there, but definitely leaning on a day trip out and a day trip back. Back will be with escort of a couple of cars.
What about starting out early, say 5am or something, and rolling as long as I can, stopping, and rolling then as night falls?
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RE: Colorado to Nevada in July/August. - Ride at midni... - 5/20/2008 2:02:45 PM
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jeffbarb17
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When we rode out there the past few summers we just got an early start and try to put a few miles on before it got to hot. Then we took more breaks in the afternoon. The others are right....the animals are out during the day and are more plentiful at night when you can't see them....
Life is Great....We all Ride!!!!..........and if you're in the mountains you will be cooler.....
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RE: Colorado to Nevada in July/August. - Ride at midni... - 5/20/2008 2:25:06 PM
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Blind Boy Grunt
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I get white knuckles driving my truck over Vail Pass at night looking out for elk. I can't imagine taking one on with a sporty.
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RE: Colorado to Nevada in July/August. - Ride at midni... - 5/20/2008 3:00:58 PM
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Lopoetve
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Blind Boy Grunt
I get white knuckles driving my truck over Vail Pass at night looking out for elk. I can't imagine taking one on with a sporty.
One goes under them!
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RE: Colorado to Nevada in July/August. - Ride at midni... - 5/20/2008 3:19:05 PM
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Big Cholla
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Lopoetve: I live in LV, used to live in Brighton, CO. Drove back and forth all the time. Coming I-70 to I-15, you go over the Rocky Mt. first. It will not get 'really' hot until you hit St. George, UT. I suggest that you ride to St. George at any time of day that you like and stay overnight in St. George. Hit the road in the morn at 5am. You will be in LV in 2 to 2 1/2 hrs. It shouldn't be any warmer than about 85 to 90 deg. by that time. Piece of cake!
Or alternatively; leave about 8 pm at night and get into LV in one long run by 8 am in the morn. I wouldn't sweat the animals except at the two relatively low mt. passes in Utah. Watch for ELK around both of them. Cattle are no longer a problem as they are all fenced.
............... BC
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RE: Colorado to Nevada in July/August. - Ride at midni... - 5/20/2008 6:00:39 PM
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Lopoetve
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Big Cholla
Lopoetve: I live in LV, used to live in Brighton, CO. Drove back and forth all the time. Coming I-70 to I-15, you go over the Rocky Mt. first. It will not get 'really' hot until you hit St. George, UT. I suggest that you ride to St. George at any time of day that you like and stay overnight in St. George. Hit the road in the morn at 5am. You will be in LV in 2 to 2 1/2 hrs. It shouldn't be any warmer than about 85 to 90 deg. by that time. Piece of cake!
Or alternatively; leave about 8 pm at night and get into LV in one long run by 8 am in the morn. I wouldn't sweat the animals except at the two relatively low mt. passes in Utah. Watch for ELK around both of them. Cattle are no longer a problem as they are all fenced.
............... BC
Awesome tips. I could leave a night early, hit St. Georges that night probably, and then finish up.
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Stage 1 Intake
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Fueling kit.
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RE: Colorado to Nevada in July/August. - Ride at midni... - 5/20/2008 8:29:42 PM
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doc_cj
Posts: 730
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From: Cedar City, UT
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Lopoetve
yeah, planning I70 to I15 straight in. I've got a couple of camelbaks I'm planning on carrying - 1.5 gallons of water total, stopping every 100 miles or so to refil, refuel, and rest. I don't mind taking plenty of time to get there, but definitely leaning on a day trip out and a day trip back. Back will be with escort of a couple of cars.
What about starting out early, say 5am or something, and rolling as long as I can, stopping, and rolling then as night falls?
Western Colorado and Eastern Utah along I-70 will get plenty hot at that time of the year. Not as bad as St George (UT) to Vegas, but still pretty hot. The area from Rifle (Co) to Richfield (UT) is the part that will be the hottest. Temperatures in August will be high 90s and low 100s.
East of Richfield you'll start climbing again, so the temperatures will get better. One option is to hit US89 (west side of Richfield) and go south from I-70 rather than come all the way over to I-15. This highway is very scenic and a great ride in August. You'll run right past Big Rock Candy Mountain as you head south.
http://geology.utah.gov/surveynotes/geosights/candymtn.htm
That will also take you to Marysville (UT) and right along the Paiute National Trail. If you've got the time then rent an ATV in Marysville and hit the trail. August is a GREAT time on the trail with a quad. Okay ... back to the point.
If you do the 89 route then go to Panguitch on 89 then head back toward Panguitch Lake along Highway 143 and toward Brian Head (ski resort) and Cedar Breaks National Monument. This will keep you at a higher elevation (above 5000 feet and up to 10000 feet) so the temperatures will be a lot better.
Another option is to come down 89 to Highway 14 (south of Panguitch) then head back toward Duck Creek and Cedar City. Either route will eventually land you on 14 and heading toward Cedar City. The ride across 14 is also very nice. Duck Creek is about 10000 feet above sea level, so it will be relatively cool compared to what you'll hit in Vegas.
Here's a shot on Highway 14 about halfway from 89 to Cedar City. You can see part of Zion National Park in the background ...
Cedar City (UT) is on I-15 and is at just over 5500 feet in elevation. Temperatures in August are generally mild with high 80s and up to mid-90s for the most part. South of Cedar City the elevation will start to drop. About 15 miles south you'll start really seeing the changes. You will literally go from Alpine forest around Brian Head and Duck Creek to high desert by the time you hit St George (45 miles south of Cedar City).
As noted, St George will be HOT! And I don't mean hot ... I mean ... HOT! Temperatures in August will go over 100 pretty easy. The sun will bake you on the asphalt as you go from southern Utah into the northeast corner of Arizona. The good part is the ride through the Virgin River Gorge, but it will still be hot.
From St George to Vegas is just under 2 hours, if you don't dawdle much on the trip. You will drop from just under 4000 feet to around 2000 feet by the time you hit Vegas, so the temperatures will go up a bit more. August in Vegas is ... well ... it's Hotter than Hot. I'd call it Africa Hot.
Early morning riding is the best, and starting at 5:30 or 6:00 is not too late. But the warnings about varmints is not restricted to deer ... there's lots of other critters in Utah that come out at night as well. I've seen cougar, bear, elk, and lots of smaller animals in the mountains around here. So if you do ride at night
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RE: Colorado to Nevada in July/August. - Ride at midni... - 5/20/2008 8:41:41 PM
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lh4x4
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I've ridden Utah, Nevada, Arizona, NM, and Texas in mid-june no problem. Did the same trip this year in the end of April to Lauflin river run. The winds were ungodly.
In my opinion it would be better to start early each day. The animals are bad enough in the day. I saw elk, deer, antelope, and big horn sheep right at the edge of the road.
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