I'm heading out on my first "big" ride May 15, Las Vegas to NE Iowa and back. I really want to run NE to Denver and east from there, but I'm not familiar with the sort of weather to expect in May. I don't mind the cold, but I do have somewhat of a schedule and can't afford to get weathered in by snow. Any advice/experience would be appreciated. I do have an alternate route in mind. I40 east out of Kingman, then NE (more or less) from Tucumcari, NM, if common wisdom indicates it may be too early to chance crossing the CO Rockies. One thing I do like about the southern route, I'd be on the interstates less, however, many parts of that Utah/Colorado route have kick *** scenery. I've caged the CO route several times, except for the I40 portion, the alternate route is a new adventure. Thanks for your input.

 

You gotta few questions there:

1. No, there will be no snow in mid May. Weather should be in the 70s and 80s, but it will be cold in the mornings.

2. you may have a freak storm above like 10,000 foot level on some of the passes. I'd say the odds of that happening are slim, so go for it. You'll knoe a few days before you leave if there is a chance for this, and can plan accordingly.

3. The NM south trip is awesome, so you are in a win win, just very different scenery.

As a word of caution, if you are riding I-70, keep your head on a swivel coming into Denver. Heavy and fast traffic, lots of people changing lanes and jockying for position on steep grades. If possible, I'd recommend a weekday for this portion of the trip just for more enjoyment.

As you pass the "spaceship" house on the right, be sure to wave over to the neighborhood below it and maybe i'll wave back.

 

PS - here is a weather report from last May:

http://www.wunderground.com/history/...lyHistory.html

Everything from 55 and rainy to 84 and sunny within one week. Be sure to bring you rain gear this time of year...

 

Thanks for the input! I'll spend some sit down time this weekend mapping both routes. After a bit of contemplation, It struck me...why not do both routes? High road eastbound, and the southern route home to Vegas. Like you said...it's win-win.

 

I'd do south first then, as it is really cool to see the mountains coming into them. Also, it would give it a few more days for the mountains to warm up. A week in May can be the difference between 40 degrees and 70 degrees in the higher elevation.

 

I'll agree 100% on the speeds coming into Denver on I70. What a race that is. Now back at the Eisenhower tunnel...May could still see some flurries??
Definietly beautiful driving anywhere out there. Get past Greeley, CO and it's a long ride You might be passing right thru my town? Good thing about both CO and Nebraska is the 75mph speed limit on the interstates...I assume it still is?
Have a great trip.

 

Everything above is right on. It is true you might have a freak snow flurry at Eisenhower tunnel. Go to :

http://www.weather.com/?from=gn_logo_welcome

And put in Vail, Leadville, Silverthorne, and Georgetown for towns to get the 10 day forecast. It is usually quite accurate 2 days out. If you plan to be hitting Vail about 12 or 1 in the afternoon you should be near peak temperature so any weather will only be wet if there is any weather.

Also, before you head up the mountain you can go to CDOT at:

http://www.weather.com/?from=gn_logo_welcome

it will tell you road conditions and you can click on live cameras that give up to the minute view of the roads for that warm fuzzy confidence to head up there.

 

Today's the day...heading out about 7 AM. I decided on the northern route, hoping for some photo ops along the way. Thanks for the input.

 

Goo tiome to travel. going to be raining tomorrow, but mid to upper 80s through Wed, so perfect riding. Have fun!!!

 

GREAT RIDE!!!!
Perfect weather eastbound, spent 1st night in Grand Junction, CO and 2nd in North Platte, NE. Only trouble was a stripped out toe shifter about 80 miles west of Des Moines, IA. Kudos to Bob at Hawkeye HD in Iowa City, IA for fixing me right up with a warranty repair. Just enough rain to wet the road for about an hour's worth of driving east of Des Moines. Plenty snow on the Vail Summit, and man-o-man it was chilly, but....LOVED every mile.
Westbound was another story, first day the weather was good, just cloudy but no rain, spent the night in Ogalalla, NE. Weather report was pretty sour for just about everything west and south of Denver, so I opted to take I25 into New Mexico. Rain, snow flurries, and one helluva sleet/hail storm near Pueblo made for an "interesting" ride. Made it to Las Vegas, NM the second day and settled in for the night. Nuisance rain on the final leg, but made it from LV, NM to LV, NV in one day, so thought that was kinda cool. Overall, 3550 miles in 6 days of riding: 1 mechanical issue; 1 close call; and miles of smiles.