Originally Posted by
jamawani
CH -
You offer very little about yourself or your experience in this environment.
I assume the "GB" means Great Britain - which has a very different September.
Also, you don't say whether you plan to start in Alberta or Montana.
The former is closer to 6 weeks, the latter 4 weeks - big diff in the fall.
Plus, days are shortening rapidly by September.
I have lived in Wyoming and Montana for almost 30 years.
Have cycled in all seasons and all parts - from pavement to remote single-track.
Late Sept I have often encountered -10C - and almost always have heavy ice on my tent fly.
And fast-moving early storms can dump a foot of snow overnight - when a dusting was predicted.
That can close backcountry forest roads for the season -
Although hunters may use snowmobiles or four-wheelers to get back in.
Speaking of hunting - you need to have some highly visible orange.
It will be hunting season - and hunters can be of great help if you encounter difficulties.
Starting in Banff around the 8th of September. Will be (should be) riding fast/light so hopefully will take me around 40 to 50 days to complete. I suppose once down in NM the temperatures will not be so severe? I'm going on rigid MTB with the 27.5 plus tires.
Experience in cold weather - not much really accept for high-altitude stuff in the high-Andes in fall/spring. But worst temperatures I encountered I'll never know as my thermometer broke. Definitely somewhere below freezing as all my water froze solid even inside the tent and even the oil in my motorcycle congealed. I suppose it was around -10c.
I'm hoping I'll be lucky with the weather but guess it's best to prepare for the worst. If you were heading out for a long-distance off-pavement tour in September, what sort of cold weather equipment would you take?
Thanks
