Southern Route: Start in March, April, or May?

[dwboca]

Hello again,

I will be doing a coast to coast southern route (east to west) from Savannah, GA to San Diego, CA.  Everyone has been helpful in these forums about routes, equipment etc.  Last piece of my puzzle is start date.  I have 5 weeks and can use them any time of the year.

My plan is to start the last week of March and end the last week of April.  My thought is that it is warming up so I should miss the snow going over the divide near Datil, NM.  Then I'm thinking the desert won't be so brutal yet in April.

Basic route in NM:  Roswell, Socorro, Datil, Mule Creek, then Bylas, AZ and into Phoenix where I follow the Southern Tier Route to San Diego.
Google Map with cities I will hit:  https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=213731278210051813731.0004c3e119ef9df5c7235&msa=0&ll=33.215712,-109.742432&spn=3.405007,7.723389&iwloc=0004c3e1750bcb7f7e410

Advice/Experiences appreciated.  Thanks for everyone's inputs - you have inspired me to do this trip.

[csykes]

I can't speak to the eastern portion of the route, but April should be pretty nice in the Arizona to San Diego section. The deserts should be mild, and while there is a chance of rain, wind, or snow in the San Diego County mountains, it is generally a nice time of year there as well.

[rabbitoh]

I rode the ST section from St. Augustine to Phoenix this year. I started on 18th March and was in Phoenix by 5th May. I had nice cool early mornings throughout Florida;Alabama,Mississippi & Louisiana and was always off the road by about mid-day, when it started to get hot.

Texas;New Mexico; and Arizona were warming up, but once again I was nearly always off the road before it got too hot.

Wind conditions were favourable.

Your planned timetable, of last week in March to first week of April, shoud be good, but I wouldn't advise leaving it any later than that.

Enjoy the ride. It is spectacular.

[dwboca]

Thanks for replies.  So, last week of March will be my start date.

dave