I'd love to get some input from the folks who live in the areas I will mention or who have ridden there.
If you had the opportunity to ride a Harley approximating the following route in mid-July, would you do it or would it simply be too hot to enjoy?
Las Vegas - Laughlin - Sedona, AZ - southern Utah - Salt Lake City
I understand about sunscreen and staying aggressively hydrated but I'm wondering if it's borderline unsafe to ride this area in the heat of the summer.
Let me hear your thoughts!
I can give you a partial answer. I rode through Las Vegas, southern Utah and Salt Late City during the second week of August last year on my way to the Sturgis rally. Let me preface this by saying that I will be 60 this year and I have become increasingly sensitive to heat over the past few years. I've had heat exhaustion more than once and one of those episodes lead to a motorcycle accident in which I broke my leg and some ribs.
It was 112 degrees going through the desert on the way to Vegas from the west. I thought I was going to pass out even though I was wearing a mesh jacket and a neck cooler. I had to stop in an air-conditioned restaurant for about 90 minutes to recover. That really helped and I was doing o.k. as I came into Vegas that afternoon and evening even thought it was still in the mid-90's at 8:00 p.m.
It was around 110 the next day on the way from Vegas to the middle of Utah. That was a real challenge but not as bad as the previous day once I took off my heavy armored mesh jacket and replaced it with a long-sleeved white shirt. I made frequent stops to wet down the shirt and recharge the neck wrap.
It was in the low 90's the next day on the way from the middle of Utah up to the Salt Lake City area and then up to Wyoming. I came back through southern Arizona after the rally and the temperatures were again about 112 degrees during most of the day.
Since Salt Lake City looks like your most northern destination, I'm guessing that you will be experiencing temperatures in the 105 to 112 degree range for most of your trip if you travel from mid-morning to early evening. I would not say that traveling in that kind of heat is enjoyable but it is doable if you get plenty of rest at night in an air conditioned hotel, start early in the day to avoid as much of the mid-day heat as possible, make frequent stops to keep hydrated and wet down your shirt and neck wrap, and stay in the shade whenever you are stopped. Please note that it is so hot during mid-day that the air conditioning in some of the smaller gas stations is barely able to keep up. There is little difference between the inside and outside temperatures in those gas stations.
I rode through the areas mentioned above because they were the most direct routes for me to get from southern California to Sturgis and back. I would not have ridden in those areas for any other reason.
I hope this helps. I'm sure the people who live in Nevada, southern Utah and Arizona rather than just passing through will have other advice for you. Good luck.