Originally Posted by
courtleigh
Well that would still involve me flying from Vegas to somewhere. But I'd consider that as well. Maybe it's cheaper to get to SF than Portland. There's a possibility I can get a ride to San Diego or LA, but all I read is that riding up the coast in the northerly direction is not a great idea.
If you do end up in Southern California, you can easily catch an Amtrak train north to better touring country, then head south from there.
People have managed to tour in the summer in the low desert, but I gather that the successful ones were already acclimated to extreme heat, and did their riding as early in the day as possible.
Also, you may not realize that the Grand Canyon /Bryce/ Canyonlands / Zion, etc (i.e. Colorado Plateau region) lie at a much higher elevation than Vegas, enough to make summer tours very practical. If you can find some way to get out of Vegas up onto the Plateau, you can have a fantastic trip.