western express, grand canyon

[dubovsmj]

ok....some will jump to conclusions before finishing reading these few
sentences/blurbs, but so be it...

i was thinkin of doing the western express, going eastward, and then
hoping on the grand canyon connector until i reached the southern tier
route.....BUT, will be doing it in january.  has anyone done much winter
riding/touring in this part of country, and how passable are the roads,
mainly at higher elevations...or do they just let mother nature do her
song and dance and melt the roads open come spring.

thanks.

[Westinghouse]

I have only read about the western express route. I have read in summmer it is remote and desolate for cycling in places but can be done. I have lived most all my life in the flatlands. I am not sure about the elevations on the western express. It is only my guess, but I would imagine the mountain roads in January would be impassable.

[nobachi2000]

Be prepared for the worst and good hiking shoes. This brings back memories of riding the back trails on a Sat when I attended BYU in winter of 1970.  Being 18 years old, I could do anything, so I rode to one of the trails just north of BYU.  The rain or wet road did not bother me until I had to push my bicycle thru the snow going uphill.  I eventually reached a campground and said to myself "I did it".  Wrong. Going downhills, I took put my life on the line.  The only thing that slowed me down and finally get me stop was my feet.  Never again.  I never rode in the snow again.  I recommend late April or early Fall.  I never rode that area either so I'm planning a trip in the same direction to Utah from Oakland using Western Express in a couple of years.  Let me know how it goes.

One pedal at a time

[DavidBurggraff]

I live in this area at about 7000'. On the Navajo Nation the plowing is minimal.  That time of year can provide from ideal riding to life threatening during the daytime. But you can always count on it to at least go down to the teens at night, sometimes below 0. It could be a tough trip.