There's a trade conference there the last week of October and I'm thinking of riding to it from Phoenix. What are the typical weather conditions there during that time?

I've ridden through there well into November. It was getting cold and I did encounter some light snow. I'd be pretty comfortable in October but would check the weather reports closely.

The weather is too hard to predict for that time of year. I rode from Southern California to Denver last October. There was considerable snow on I-70, so I took I-40 to I-25. It was cool, with some rain and temps down in the high 30s going north on I-25.

The return trip on 15 October was a SaddleSore 1000 from Denver to So. Cal. with sunny, clear weather via I-70 and I-15. I left Denver at 7:00 AM (Mountain). Temps were in the low 40s, dropped into the low 20s going over the Rockies. From Grand Junction on, temperatures continued to warm up, reaching a peak of 98 in Mesquite.

If you are planning to ride in Colorado in late October, be prepared for extreme cold, snow, and ice, but you could encounter anything.

You should be fine,just stay away from the mountains.Down here at the front range,we get quite lucky.It does get cold and we get some snow,but it doesn't last.I ride to work year round.There are days when you need a four wheeler though.

I hit heavy snow last Thursday,but it was up over Loveland pass at 12k elevation.

Robert.

Sounds like I can't make a final decision until days before going then?

When my daughter was in college north of Denver, I rode up regularly to visit her into November and mostly had great but cold rides. On a couple of occassions I had to re-route my trip to avoid some bad weather. Keep in mind the mountains have their own weather system and subject to rapid change. It can be sunny now and 15 minutes later start snowing. With this in mind unless there is strong prediction of bad weather, you should be fine.

That pretty much covers it. I've had to change my route mid ride after hearing Weather Channel updates.

Yes, assuming that you have the equipment for very cold weather riding. If you are not sure that you have the right equipment, please don't go. IMHO, "right equipment" means electrically heated gear in good working order; insulated gear alone is not sufficient. You need to bring enough insulated layers for emergencies, in case your electrics fail or you have some other mechanical breakdown and get stuck somewhere.

You may also want to leave yourself an extra day or two, unless you don't care about arriving late due to unexpected weather conditions.

I have no issues at all with plain cold. No problem. My issues would be snow/ice on the roads and large amounts of rain.