I'd like to spend a bunch of time riding all around the USA & Canada (and possibly drop into Mexico).

I'd like to do all the states (maybe a bit tricky to ride to Hawaii however...) but am struggling to work out the best time to go and in what order.

I'm not aiming to hit all states in 16 hours or anything silly like that - I'll just be pottering about, stopping and staying where I find interesting places, carrying on when I don't etc.

Being so huge, one can't say you want to go for a particular month, however I suspect different parts are nicer during different parts of the year - that's where I'm struggling! I know Florida, for example, would be lovely October to March but then in the summer would get too hot, whereas Canada is probably a tad on the chilly side in January!

I don't suppose I could get some insight as to when is generally nice in each area?

Thank you

Below is a map that shows average daily temperature (mean temperature) during the month of September for the USA. The temperatures are given in degrees Fahrenheit.

You can consider this to be a 'zonal' map of Canada and the USA, as follows:

1) Anywhere that is blue is mountainous, it's going to be out of the question to ride there anytime other than July to early September inclusive.

2) Anywhere that is green will have snow on the ground from about October to April inclusive, and if there is no snow, it will be too cold to ride (temps below freezing).

3) The yellow zone is a bit of a crapshoot - you can get some nice days in October/November and in April, but you can also get snowstorms in those same months.

4) The orange and red areas are generally snow-free and offer pleasant riding 9 months of the year, with December-January-February being the other three months.

But, having said that, I rode along the bottom of Arizona last November (that's the red area in the lower left), and temperatures were bitterly cold, about 45F in the day and below freezing at night, during the week I was there.

Very broadly speaking, I suggest you avoid planning to ride in Canada (and the green zones of the USA) in all months other than May to September inclusive, and avoid planning to ride in the yellow zones outside of April to October inclusive.

If you are familiar with European weather patterns, you could compare the green zones to the UK, Germany, Benelux weather, and the yellow zones to southern France, southern Italy, and all of Spain except the extreme south. The orange areas would compare to Morocco.

The only North Americans who can reasonably count on riding year-round are the ones who live in the red zones at the bottom of Texas and Florida.

Michael

September Daily Mean Temperatures

Sounds a bit glum, from where I sit. Lots of people ride under all sorts of conditions during most times of year--I sure do, and I'm not particularly tough.

Your map shows one aspect of yearly climate swings--mean temperature norms at a large scale. It ignores other important considerations, like humidity, icing, cloud cover, precip, and more. It also ignores key small-scale features, like various warm corridors through otherwise-inhospitable mountainous areas, localized snow belts, and (my particular nemesis) seasons of persistent cold fog. And it doesn't account for wide variations in daily temps, or even the temperature swings between highs and lows which are amalgamated into "mean daily averages." A mean of 40 degrees can signify highs of 45 and lows of 35 (in my neighborhood), or highs of 55 and lows below freezing (in Tucson).

There's no arguing the fact that northern Montana or the Colorado Plateau is a poor choice during the winter months. And it's probably true that if you view a nice, sunny 45F (7C) day on the dry Sonoran desert as "bitterly cold," you'll probably not do well elsewhere in North America most of the year. But to me that sounds like pretty good riding weather, although hampered in November by the shorter days.

In general terms it'll be true that short days and cold temps require scaled-back expectations about daily mileage and flexibility about scheduling. When I ride in yellow and green areas on the map during, say, February, I watch the weather closely and don't try to push it. I've done the same in most of Europe and elsewhere. Parts of southern Canada, too. Again, I'm neither fanatical nor tough, but I've been cross country east-west and north-south multiple times well outside your summarized guidelines.

Moose, I'm not answering your post because the question is so vague. To do justice to your request for "insight as to when is generally nice in each area" I'd have to write a guidebook, and those guidebooks have already been written (and the information posted freely all over the HUBB and elsewhere). Best bet is to start reading on your own, then come back with specific questions about areas of interest, e.g., "What are normal conditions during February on California Rt. 1 north of San Francisco?" Or "Is snow likely on Interstate 40 between Albuquerque and L.A. during November? Would I do any better on I-10?" Etc.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

Well, yeah, absolutely, the only thing that the map shows is mean daily temperatures. I suggested in my post that the OP use those as a proxy for climatic zones and riding conditions. My comment about the freezing temperatures along the Arizona-Mexico border was added specifically to point out that mean daily temperatures alone don't provide any guarantee that what you see on the map is what you will encounter on any given day.

To give him a thorough briefing on riding conditions in North America across 12 months of the year would have taken about 60 pages, and I don't have the time to write that. Heck, I'm a retired aircraft pilot, and to get a good weather briefing for a single flight on a single day across an entire continent takes about 45 minutes. The post I wrote above takes about 3 minutes to read.

The OP could, of course, do his own research by looking at all the various factors you mentioned, but his original post was what I would consider to be a 'very general' question, to which I replied with a 'very general' answer.

Michael

Moose, perhaps if people knew where you live and a bit about other long-term trips, then they could get a better feel for your tolerance to various weather and road conditions. Your profile seems to be totally bare and could benefit from a little bit of detail.
We have spent about 18 months in 3 to 6 month chunks driving western USA, Alaska and Mexico in a fairly luxurious motorhome and regardless of how much research I do into climate and weather, I regularly get it seriously wrong to the extent of ending up in serious snow and raging gales and sometimes in 120F temperatures as well (which I regard as worse), all in the same three-month period.

As Mark says, do a few weeks of research and then come back with specifics.

__________________
Tony
Click here for Travel Photos & Travel Map

Moose, just a follow up thought for you:

It is possible to extend the riding season in the northern zones (green & yellow zones) that I identified above if you have appropriate clothing for cold weather conditions: Heavy outerwear, heavy gloves, neck protection, cold weather boots, perhaps a balaclava, heated handgrips and a heated vest and chaps. But:

All that stuff takes up an enormous amount of room on a motorcycle.

I've got 3 different sets of outerwear at my home (mesh for extreme summer heat, leather for all-round use, and winter-spec heated clothing for low temperature riding). With that, I can accomplish perhaps 8 months of riding where I live in Toronto (just above the top of the USA). But: There is no way I could ever carry all of that stuff with me on the bike, because if I tried, I would have no space for anything else.

Hence, you need to frame your plans around what kind of riding clothing you are prepared to carry. Let's assume you elect to wear a typical set of leathers, which is fine for all round use and will suffice for occasional hot temperature use. That then rules out riding long distances (any more than an urban commute) when the temperature is below, for example, 10°C (about 50°F), most especially if your moto is not well faired.

Like Tony said, let us know where you plan to start your North America tour, what kind of bike you have, what other long-distance touring you have done in Europe, and we can then give you more well-informed advice.

Michael

I left My home in North Florida may 21st, it was warm but not crazy hot yet. Shot across Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California in a week.. Spent 4 days in Baja, Mexico and then took 4 days to head north to Seattle. I've been in Seattle to take a slight break then I'll continue on my tour of North America. Depends how much time you want to take off, if it's a year then you can follow the seasons around North America. If it's a couple months, I would say mid May through August. East coast is quite rainy through July,, so... It wouldn't be a good adventure without the weather though.


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Hey guys

Thanks for your replies.

Of course it's possible to travel anywhere at any time of year, however I don't do well in the extreme heat or the extreme cold on the bike.

As suggested, I'm not going to carry 3 sets of leathers/clothes to cover every eventuality etc. I tend to wear textiles - vented etc.

My US base is South West Florida, however it's quite quick to get from there up North etc.

I guess I'd be looking to take 3 months as that's all I can spend in USA on my visa waiver...unless I pop in and out of the country!

Just looking for general advice really.

Thank you

Our plans are not quite as extensive as yours but last year when we started planning an east to west to east trip over about two months we shortlisted mid April to mid June and Sept/Oct as the best time slots. For various reasons only partly to do with climate we decided on Sept /Oct. Looking at Michael's weather map as a northern European, Sept looks ok to me - if maybe a little down on what US friends tell me to expect, but I have a fairly wide tolerance for temperature.

While we're hoping for endless days of sunshine and 25C where we can ride in lightweight clothing I know there are going to be wet days / cold days (and particularly as Oct advances wet and cold days) so either we're going to have to take suitable clothing with us or buy it en route. Depending on what you're riding it's either going to be a pia or just another thing in the pannier. If you're aiming to do all the states you're going to have to deal with it as going north or south depending on whether you're hot or cold isn't going to work.

For your all states trip I'd probably chose Aug / Sept /Oct, start in the north and work my way down but that's based on my limited experience of the US.

Hopefully my recent experience can lend some good "hindsight" advice- ie, lots of things we did totally wrong on our trip (3 months around US), and a few we did right...

We traveled in a partial figure-8 from June 2nd till September 20-something, if I remember right, the following is in order of that:

Wisconsin- It's cold and sucks up here. But we do have some good roads in the north, it's beautiful in the spring, and people are super nice Rains a fair amount in spring.

Michigan is great (though also chilly, heh). Copper Harbor is absolutely worth seeing. I hope to go back soon. Rains a lot in spring.

Montreal is an awesome city. Do NOT miss the poutine at "La Banquise". Again, a bit chilly in spring...

Nova Scotia is lovely, chilly and fogy. Cabot Trail was great, highly recommended. Rains a lot a lot a lot in spring.

Maine is very picturesque...also rainy (seeing a pattern here?)

New York City is fracking mad.

New Jersey (or, "Niew Joizee"), actually has some great, windy, forested paths out in the boonies. Only rained on us a little bit!

All down the east coast to North Carolina...soaked us. Yech. Chilly, too.

Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway- Must see! This was a (the?) highlight of the trip. Incredible, sweeping, continuous curves through montains, forests, mists, clouds, fields of wildflowers...all purpose-built for touring. Stays out of cities, goes for...600 miles? Something like that. Just plain fantastic Weather can be anything from mild to rainy, fairly warm, though it treated us well. Other than one 36-hour stretch of pouring rain, while we sat glumly in our tent

Tennessee- Tail of the Dragon! R.E.S.P.E.C.T. it, or eat it. But ride it, that's for sure! Tons of other good riding out there. Weather was warm, a bit humid, generally good. Finally had some proper BBQ!!!

Kansas- this was a surprise. Figured it would be terrible...flat, boring etc. But oh god the sky...it's so open, and colorful...you'll see. Put some chill music on and just ride all day. Beautiful. Nice and warm in the day, tad chilly at night, no big deal.

Colorado: Meh, fairly warm, in Denver. Had a good time.

Wyoming: clear, but coooold in the mornings. Incredible vistas.

Montana: surprisingly warm, clear, no rain.

Oregon Coast: Cold, rainy, blech. (okay, that's not fair, we were in a hurry at this point, but just got dumped on the entire time...)

California Coast: SUNSHINE! WHEE! Still a bit chilly though, till you get below San Fran. Even then, the coast can be surprisingly cool. Head into the mountains for warmth. Beware EXTREME wind on the I-5!!

Southern Cali Coast: simply awesome. Zero rain, warm but not hot. Perfect!

Whew, sorry, that's a lot- hope some of it helps you to prepare!