Great Rivers South in November/December

[argon]

I'm planning a cycle tour this Nov/Dec and one of the routes that really interests me is Great Rivers South. Will it be too cold by then? Any other routes of a similar or shorter length I should consider that are good at that time of year?

[RussSeaton]

I live about equal with Muscatine, Iowa.  Same north level.  Not sure if that is latitude or longitude.  November in Iowa usually has lows at night of 30s-40s.  And daytime highs of 30s to 50s.  Sometimes its warmer.  Or colder.  But count on upper 30s to upper 50s for all 24 hours.  If its a sunny day, its pleasant daytime riding weather.  But you still may want tights and a jacket and a long sleeve jersey.  You can get by without gloves usually.  But its not hot or really even warm.  Its OK in the sunshine.  From about Noon until 4PM its OK for riding in November at the northern end of your route.  You will have no problem doing the ride at this time of year.  But I am not sure it will be all that enjoyable weather wise.  You won't jump out of bed and say lets ride.  You will say, its chilly.  Brrrr.  From St. Louis south it will be nicer riding weather.  But the first week may not be too pleasant.

[Pat Lamb]

Not too far from Tupelo, three things would concern me: temperature, rain, and daylight.

In reverse order: first of November, there's about 11 hours of daylight (probably good cycling for 9.5 hours) a day.  By the end of December, you're down to less than 8 hours of good cycling daylight.

Rain: October is our driest month (especially with the current drought!).  Probability of precipitation is going up from 30%/day, on average, to 50% per day.  November is when we transition from pop-up thunderstorms to powerful fronts coming in.

Temperature: Early November is great cycling weather, usually mid-40s to mid-60s.  Late December, not so much: how do you like cycling in frost in the mornings, with highs usually between 40 and 50?  It's tough commuting by bike then, since I end up having to bring home cold weather gear 2/3 of the time -- unless the temps are going down, then I wish I'd brought some more.  Proper equipment helps a lot, but on some days you're going to be spending a lot of time changing clothes...

Are you thinking of camping or B&B/motels?  Many of the campgrounds on the Natchez Trace will be closed, but a warm shower and toasty bed at the end of a long, cold day are great luxuries.

Edited to add: You probably won't have to worry about snow.  South of Tennessee, the snow removal plan is typically "wait 'til it melts."  And that plan only gets exercised every 3-4 years.