along with summer comes road construction.....

    • 27 posts
    May 12, 2014 5:25 PM PDT
     Rode up to Lake Chelan today, and dealt with road repairs for 18 miles, however i gained insight as to how the bike handles on different surfaces, they were sealing the cracks in the pavement, which really feels slick when rideing over it. amazing how the feedback from the road translates to your steering . had a good time , lost 30 bucks at the casino... but still won cause i had a great time. 
    • 5420 posts
    May 13, 2014 3:41 AM PDT
    I hate road construction, especially when the road is partly finished and open. The worst is when the grind the grooves in the surface to prepare to resurface. It's like you get stuck in those grooves and can't get out.

    We were coming back from Hollister a few years back and they had ground those grooves in the road.  There was a 90° turn in the road but the grinder had gone straight past the turn.  I was stuck in the grooves and could not make the turn, even at 25 mph.  Wound up in a field butluckily did not go down.
    • Moderator
    • 16837 posts
    May 13, 2014 5:35 AM PDT
    Yes Lucky those milling machines make a mess, I worked around them for years.
    The worst thing was paving, working with 450 degree asphalt in 90 to 100+ degree weather.
    Both with folks yelling and throwing stuff at ya. ;-)
  • May 13, 2014 7:48 AM PDT
    I was at the auto parts store a few min ago and talking about those grooves in the roads how I hate riding on them
  • May 13, 2014 9:53 AM PDT
    My favorite projects are the ones where they are resurfacing the road, and they leave a 5 inch bump for you to jump over at 60 mph!! when they get to a bridge.
    • 1 posts
    May 13, 2014 2:50 PM PDT
    Love it when I see road construction, Jobs and money. Least I see where my taxes dollars are being spent. yeah, it's hell on a bike, but I'd put up with it.
    • 1855 posts
    May 14, 2014 6:30 AM PDT
    I can handle a bit of construction except when county, state, and local don't have their shit together and seem to tie up all the roadways at the same time and you just don't know how to get to where you want to go. Around my house I need to go east and I can't cross over the interstate cuz the state is working on a bridge. So I head north a ways and then east and then south and then east but oooops, the county is working on a road so I still can't go east and I go further south and then east....whewwww I made it. I only needed to go 5 miles but I had to travel 20 to reach my destination.

    I don't do interstates to get out of Ohio as it has been under construction since I moved here in 1974. Really, every freaking year since 1974 I-75 from my home in Lima, Ohio to Cincinnati. Since I usually take back roads regardless of where I'm heading road construction isn't that big a deal; I don't mind the detours. But when I have to do interstate and it's blocked, that's where the problems come in.

    Can anyone tell me why a trucker would intentionally try and prevent me from taking the shoulder on my motorcycle? I know in many places it may be illegal but not most states and he ain't no damn cop, it's none of his freaking business and besides, I'm not hauling ass up the right shoulder. Usually I'm just coasting along in first gear, hoping to keep my motor cool, and maybe going a 1/4 mile at a time so as to get the hell out of Dodge.

    I'm not going to start a war with any truck drivers here but I'd sure like to know what makes them think they can block my way.
    • 3006 posts
    May 14, 2014 5:30 PM PDT
    Sounds like it was money well spent LOL you enjoyed the ride inspite of the obstacles,
    speaking of road construction,was worried about riding over freshly laid asphalt the other day.Also they had been pouring out that seam crack sealer on the portions of the road that needed it.Could the tar compounds damage the tire? or speed up its breakdown? my handling felt ok yet w/a new front tire no hassles that were noticable.
    For some reason the rain grooves do not hamper my steering ability ,..its those deep gouges that are sometimes left by the paving equipment.
    stay safe & enjoy the ride!!