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Route Planning Where to go, when, what are the interesting places to see
Photo by Hendi Kaf, in Cambodia

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Hendi Kaf,
in Cambodia



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  #1  
Old 12 Mar 2007
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Best time of year to travel in your area/country

Ok, after several unsuccessful HUBB searches I decided to post this question. I am currently in the very early planning stages of what has come to be known to myself and close friends as the "Fugawi World Tour".

The first stumbling block that has come along is knowing what is the best time of year or weather "window" to travel in any given country/area. Without this information, it is very difficult to plan where to lay up during winter or monsoon seasons.

So HUBBERS open up and share what you consider is the best riding weather in your locality. Maybe include any specifics that may relate to a particular highway for example Russia.
Maybe include what time of year is summer/winter etc etc
This thread is not narrowed to any specific country so open the flood gates and let it rip!

Glen
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Last edited by loxsmith; 12 Mar 2007 at 08:00.
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Old 12 Mar 2007
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Western Japan

Guess I will be the first one to provide some input:

Western Japan, Shikoku and Kyushu, as well as the Osaka area.....

any time is good! Even in Winter there is little to no snow at all. Temperature around +5 degrees Celsius. Spring and fall ideal motorcycling weather, summer a little humid, temperatures around 28 degrees Celsius.

Actually I am using my bike here on Shikoku all year.

Roads are good to great! Even the so-called backroads are easy to ride.

Well, hope that this will help, I know it is very little information only. And maybe, Grant can open a new "side-bar" with the hopefully incoming information!

Greetings from Shikoku

Klaus
http://virtulanguage.com

PS: Winter months in northern Japan are from end of October/beginning of November to at least April - with lots of snow and temperatures dipping way below -0 degrees Celsius. Of course - Sakhalin is very near - so go and figure! Definitely no fun for motorcycling!!
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Last edited by klaus; 12 Mar 2007 at 11:15. Reason: Additional information
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Old 12 Mar 2007
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Thank you Klaus for getting the ball rolling.

For me and others around the world can you tell us what months of the year northern winter is?

Thanks mate!
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  #4  
Old 12 Mar 2007
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Here's my bit

For Australia in general the seasons are as follows
Summer: December to February
Autumn: March to May
Winter: June to August
Spring: September to November

Australia's tropical regions
The tropical regions of Australia are in the north of the country. They include the central and northern parts of the Northern Territory and Queensland, and the northern parts of Western Australia. The weather in the Australian tropics has two very different seasons: the wet season and the dry season.

The wet season lasts about six months in summer and spring, between December and March. It is hotter than the dry season, with temperatures between 30 and 50 degrees Celsius. This is because of the high humidity during the wet, which is caused by large amounts of water in the air. During the wet there is a lot of rain, which frequently causes flooding.

Australia's Dry Regions
The driest regions of Australia are found mostly in central Australia, stretching from most of central and southern Western Australia, through the southern parts of the Northern Territory and most of South Australia, to the far west regions of Queensland and New South Wales, and the north-western parts of Victoria.

The dry and desert regions of Australia are characterised by intense heat during the day and intense cold at night. Temperatures range from around 40 degrees celsius in the summer to between 16 and 24 degrees celsius in the winter. At night the temperature can vary from 19 degrees Celsius to zero degrees Celsius These areas receive little rainfall. Most of central Australia is normally in a state of drought.

Australia's temperate regions
The temperate areas of Australia are found on the south-eastern coast, reaching south from Tasmania through most of Victoria and New South Wales into the southern parts of Queensland. Temperate regions are also found in the southern most parts of South Australia and the south-western tip of Western Australia.

The weather in temperate Australia is quite changeable throughout the year, with an average temperature of around 30 degrees Celsius in the summer, and cool to cold winters with an average temperature of around 15 degrees Celsius The summer frequently extends into periods of heat wave and drought, while the winters, while usually cold, wet and windy, are quite mild in comparison to winters in many European countries.

Snow is uncommon in temperate Australia, and unheard of in the dry and tropical regions, but along the Great Dividing Range, the mountain range that passes through New South Wales and Victoria, there are regular winter snowfalls.

The conclusion is to stay away from the deserts in peak summer and steer away from the north in the wet season. Yes I cheated, this is direct from a government web site. It tells the story much better than I ever could.
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  #5  
Old 12 Mar 2007
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Netherlands

The Netherlands have a mild sea climate. We have no "hurricane season" like the US or "monsoon" like India.

This winter was very warm and I drove my bike almost every weekend but normaly it would be safe to say that between april and september you should have reasonable weather.
Beware, if you are in the Netherlands, it is always wise to have a rainsuit and an extra sweater in your luggage, just in case.

I think in general, the same applies for Belgium, England and the North-West of Germany.
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  #6  
Old 12 Mar 2007
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Southern Spain, Andalucia

Southern Spain has mild temperate winters (average 14C day/5-10C night) and hot summers (average 35C day/25C night). Rains falls between October & April, but never usually more than 15-20 days maximum and ranges from light drizzle to very heavy downpours which can result in flash floods. We had snow in our village last year (altitude 300m) for the first time in 52 years.
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Old 13 Mar 2007
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Glen

I have included a chart for our world trip with all the data as in Dry, Wet Rainy ect in a table format for easy reading. it is in the Preperation section under when to travel and then Country weather. The address of the site is below in our signature.

If you follow the D 's along you can avoid getting wet LOL

Hope it helps
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Old 13 Mar 2007
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The southern US border (east from San Diego, through Arizona, etc.)is very hot in the summer. The temperatures close in on 50 C or about 120 F during the height of our summer (July through mid-September). During the winter, the temperatures are often far cooler, but there tends to be some viscious wind that blows most of the winter, at least here in Yuma. Having large areas covered in sand, this can make riding a little difficult, with visibility cut down, riding can get precarious, and just having harsh sands blow on you. Ouch!

Keep this in mind if you are planning to ride into or out of Mexico through the border crossings east of Tijuana into Arizona, and more eastward through New Mexico, and on into Texas.

It has been quite hot here the last few days, with temps into the 90's F (not sure of the Celsius equivalent), and supposed to continue into next week. Keep in mind that these temps kill illegal border crossers (very unprepared for such an endeavor, I must add) but significant for bikers in that bikes don't have air conditioning.
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Old 13 Mar 2007
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  #10  
Old 13 Mar 2007
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Weather around Yellowstone and Glacier USA

Hurry to see Glacier park as the glaciers are melting fast. For the past few years here in Montana June has been a wet month. May can be glorious and july and september are great but June has had a lot of rain which also turns to snow at the higher pass elevations.
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Old 13 Mar 2007
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As Mollydog says, the weather isn't really predictable anymore. We've got March and the bike season is open for weeks in Upper Bavaria already....

Best time of the year for the Alpine regions (Austria, Southern Germany, Switzerland, Northern Italy and Western France) is from May to October. But of course summer is also holiday time. Worst months are July & August re school holidays.

Hans
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  #12  
Old 14 Mar 2007
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NEW ZEALAND:

In NZ summer is better becasue you get longer days, but in the north it is always quite warm, so you can travel anytime.

Winter in the south you can get snow, and sometimes the roads are closed, but never for too long, 1-2 days.

Winter is better if you like skiing, but otherwise travel in the summer from mid January to end March.

It's a bit better from February becasue the schools are back in. It can get very busy in January when the schools are on summer holiday.

Last edited by bartman10; 16 Mar 2007 at 03:23.
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  #13  
Old 14 Mar 2007
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I agree with Bill Ryder, the rate that the Glaciers are receding is scary. When we recently visited the Athabasca Glacier in Canada and walked from the carpark to the base of the glacier there are sign posts indicating where the base of the glacier used to be only a few short years ago. From memory it has recede something like 1.5 kilometers in the last 120 odd years.
This is stark evidence of the rapid damage that has occurred.

See them now before they are gone forever
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  #14  
Old 15 Mar 2007
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Central America

from mid october to mid february you get decent temps in CA.
Usually no rain, perhaps one day out of all these months.
march and april is hot moreso for april.
So you probably don't want to ride a bike in the sun with all the protective gear. Rain sets in in late april/may for Nicaragua and usually stops in september. Doesn't rain every day though. Usually heave rainfalls once a week, scattered showers like 2-3 days a week.
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  #15  
Old 16 Mar 2007
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CA and website for weather history

Welcome to The Weather Underground : Weather Underground

The above site may give you some idea about wind, precip, and temperatures.

Clearly some elements are hard to predict year to year. October/November of 2006 we encountered rain in the afternoons nearly everyday in CA. And a couple of days in the morning. The best seasons are a matter of averages and thats the best you can do.
Bob
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