Help needed -- warm places to go ride

I need some ideas from people in the know. I live in Iowa and want to drive somewhere warm next
weekend to camp and ride my road bicycle. Here's my wishlist for the location in order of
importance. Please let me know if you know of a location that might fit the bill.

1. Within 12 hrs. of Des Moines, IA. The closer the better.
2. Warm! 70s would be perfect, 60s would be fine.
3. Good routes for riding long miles
4. Mountains or other large climbs

If you know a place that might fit this bill, or at least would come close, please let me know. Any
links for researching or anything like that would be helpful. It'd be great if you could respond
directly to my email account.

Thanks!

Eric Lambi [email protected]

 

I think you next to move out here to sunny California like about half the state of Iowa has done.

Dave Storm, Hawarden, Iowa native

"Eric Lambi" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I need some ideas from people in the know. I live in Iowa and want to drive somewhere warm next
> weekend to camp and ride my road bicycle. Here's my wishlist for the location in order of
> importance. Please let me know if you know of a location that might fit the bill.
>
> 1. Within 12 hrs. of Des Moines, IA. The closer the better.
> 2. Warm! 70s would be perfect, 60s would be fine.
> 3. Good routes for riding long miles
> 4. Mountains or other large climbs
>
> If you know a place that might fit this bill, or at least would come close, please let me know.
> Any links for researching or anything like that would be helpful. It'd be great if you could
> respond directly to my email account.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Eric Lambi [email protected]

 

Abilene Texas will be warm: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/data/forecasts/TXZ128.php?warncounty=TXC059

So will Shreveport La:
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/data/forecasts/LAZ002.php?warnzone=laz002&warncounty=lac015 You may find
some shuttle souvenirs too.

And check this one out! http://www.srh.noaa.gov/data/forecasts/FLZ078.php

Eric Lambi wrote:

>I need some ideas from people in the know. I live in Iowa and want to drive somewhere warm next
>weekend to camp and ride my road bicycle. Here's my wishlist for the location in order of
>importance. Please let me know if you know of a location that might fit the bill.
>
> 1. Within 12 hrs. of Des Moines, IA. The closer the better.
> 2. Warm! 70s would be perfect, 60s would be fine.
> 3. Good routes for riding long miles
> 4. Mountains or other large climbs
>
>If you know a place that might fit this bill, or at least would come close, please let me know. Any
>links for researching or anything like that would be helpful. It'd be great if you could respond
>directly to my email account.
>
>Thanks!
>
>Eric Lambi [email protected]

 

>From: Cycling Joe

>Abilene Texas will be warm:

But, I have it on good authority that one should not wear a French jersey when cycling in Texas.

George F. Johnson

 

Eric Lambi wrote:

> I need some ideas from people in the know. I live in Iowa and want to drive somewhere warm next
> weekend to camp and ride my road bicycle. Here's my wishlist for the location in order of
> importance. Please let me know if you know of a location that might fit the bill.
>
> 1. Within 12 hrs. of Des Moines, IA. The closer the better.
> 2. Warm! 70s would be perfect, 60s would be fine.
> 3. Good routes for riding long miles
> 4. Mountains or other large climbs
>
> If you know a place that might fit this bill, or at least would come close, please let me know.
> Any links for researching or anything like that would be helpful. It'd be great if you could
> respond directly to my email account.

It's starting to warm up here in the southeast -- 60s the last couple of days here in southwest
Virginia. It gets a little warmer the further south you go -- I notice that NC temps are a few
degrees warmer still. So you might try the southern Appalachian areas -- NC, parts of GA, or AL
around Birmingham.

With one eye on the weather forecast, this might be a great time of year for a Blue Ridge Pkwy. tour
-- virtually no traffic, and excellent views, with the leaves not on the trees yet.

Another place you might try is around Austin, TX. It's not exactly the Rockies, but there are some
pretty nice hills around there.

Boulder can have warm weather this time of year -- or not. However, it's probably the closest, with
the best developed biking scene, to help you find what you're looking for.

That's probably about it for the drive-there-in-a-day places. Even then, I don't think you'd make it
in 12 hours (except Boulder). Keep in mind that plane tickets are way cheap right now, so it might
be just as easy to hop a flight to SoCal or Tucson, and trade 2 days' driving for 2 (half) days'
riding as well. Who knows, you might even find a cheap package vacation to Hawaii! Do the surfer
thing -- blow all your money on the plane ticket, and just sleep on the beach!

Matt O.