4 months Prudhoe Bay to Tierra-del-Fuego - Best time of year?

[IanC]

Planning on doing the length of the Americas (West coast / Andes), and would like to start this Aug/Sep, which apparently is the latest I'll manage the northern end. Can't get away any earlier.

Am I picking a reasonable time of year overall? Start/Finish seems OK, although perhaps a July start would have been better. I'm more unsure about Central America and the north of SA.

I've tried to work it out by picking various places en-route on Weather.com, but I'm more confused now than when I started! Or maybe I'm being lazy.

[ssa2]

Well with a route that long you will not be able to get a best time. If you wanted best time Alaska right now would be awesome. I think the sun travels faster than you can on a bike as at the other end of TDF Jan. seems to be the best time.

[Vaufi]

As for Tierra del Fuego you shouldn't go there later than around Feb. March might be getting cold out there already. Nov to Feb is usually ok.

Hope this helps.

[IanC]

Thanks guys,

My concern really is more with Central America and the Andes. I suppose rain and/or poor visibility are my main concerns. I remember riding through the Pyrenees once and only seeing a few yards in front of me - a bit pointless!

So doing say Central America in October and the Andes in November wouldn't be too bad?

[hook]

To do the trip you suggest, late August early September in Alaska would be the best time to start (I worked on the north slope of Alaska for 2 years, we saw snow every month of the year- not blizzard snow, but flurries- this is the land of perma-frost). You'll have few problems in Central America in October-November (though October is the tail-end of hurricane season, reference Mitch). It's a nice time to be there. As you know, you'll be riding out of the North American fall and into the South American spring. This would put you in TDF in December/January, the peak season. As I said, this would be a great time to do this ride. Now I'll open my big mouth. If you're out to rack up miles and conquer the western hemisphere, you're all set. I spent 8 months riding from Colorado to Argentina- and don't feel like I spent enough time. In the end, it's "whatever turns your goat loose!" We're all different, and we're all right. If you can "only" get 4 months off and want to blast through the America's to say you did it, then you are 100% right. If I had 4 months to head south, I'd probably spend them in Mexico-and maybe parts of Central America. If you want to say you did the ride, you're on the right track. If you want to experience the ride, I'd slow it down a bit. If you're shipping your bike to the America's, you can always ship it to one continent and ship home from the same continent. Four months in South America would be fantastic! Enjoy the planning- it's a huge part of the fun. Enjoy your ride, D.

[Mr. Ron]

Congrats on your new voyage! I look foreward to starting the next leg of my America's trip in latr Dec. I have to agree with Hook on this one, you have an aweful lot of land to cover in four months! Last season i spent two months travelling through Mexico, and i still missed out on the Yucatan! This year i'm. reserving 10 weeks to finish Mex and all C.America...it still feels rushed. I left my bike in Mex. to save some time and money, and will probably do the same in Panama or CostaRica. To each their own, but you may find that once on the road the pace may be troublesom for such a long journey. Personally, i like to ride every second day, my ass gets too sore otherwise