I'd like to throw this up for discussion more for newer riders then anything else. With the advent of spring and ensuing summer out comes the orange barrels on the roads we travel. Are there any tips that a rider should take in mind when forced to travel in construction areas or do you try to avoid areas at all costs?

 

Sometimes I stick a foot out and kick them over... look out for the sand filled ones.

 

Stay way back from the gravel trucks gravel stings

 

The temporary metal road plates are REAL slippery. Make no sudden changes when riding over them.
Watch out for uneven pavement. There are supposed to be signs warning of this but often not. A few riders in my area went down 2 years ago because they came across uneven pavement at night. The investigators concluded that they could not easily make out the edge of the uneven pavement because it was no were near the painted lines.

 

Just stay in your lane. However, it sounds like the situation might freak you out so, maybe you're better off avoiding it altogether until you're a little more confident in your riding ability.

 

In Florida construction is year round, and they are currently 6 laning the section of US41 I travel to and from work daily. Been going on a year now and got another year to go at least.

As others have said the pavement changes suck, as do some lane changes. My biggest problem here is the lane shifting. With the construction and the concrete barriers and barrels, the lanes are narrow at many points, and lane shifts are tight, often having drivers veer into other lanes through the shifts. I stay back and try ensure the vehicles around know of my presence before we get int into the shifts.

Nighttime also sucks because often the lines are hard to see, as well as uneeven pavement.

Just slow down, watch your mirrors, keep your distance from what's in front in case they make a sudden move, and be aware of who's next to you and be sure they are aware of you.

 

It is hard to avoid em here in PA... every friggin road out there seems to be under construction. Give yourself space for the vehicle in front of you, loose gravel, dirt which turns to slime in a brief shower are real thrillers. Merge points really suck because you get that one a-hole flyin up to it and sees what he think is an open spot between vehicles and it is your spot... construction zones SUCK!

 

Watch out for uneven pavement! Few years ago on my then 3 week old Ultra I came across a section of road they had removed the top 3-4 inches of asphalt. It was night, traveling at 55 mph on two lane highway, no construction signs at all and had my wife riding along staggered behind me to my right.

They had not stripped the whole lane but about 3/4 of it so I hit right on the lip and it threw me into a violent tank slapper. Not real sure what I did but remember just trying to keep the front wheel pointed in my direction of travel (back and forth) and believe I let off the throttle and applied no brakes. I do remember hearing my wife screaming behind me as I was thinking how this is going to hurt. After maybe 200 - 300 yards the bike settled down and everything was back to normal except for my adrenaline level! We stopped at a gas station a few miles down the road and my left foot was cramping, I think that was from how tight I had the tank gripped between my legs. My wife said what she was screaming about was my back end was fishtailing from side to side inches from her bike.

Not sure how either of us escaped that one without going down! I have cut my night time riding down since then and really pay attention when I do ride at night. You do not realize how much your vision deteriorates as you get older.

 

Yeah there is alot of areas that I plan on going to that have alot of construction on the roads going on. Hell it's tough in a stinking cage to get thru in one piece at times. The road surfaces have ruts,grooves and holes that can rip your handle bars out of your hands. Debris in the road coupled with jackasses thinking it's a test track can unnerve even seasoned riders. I talked to a guy who does the navigation for a mc club and he told me they try to avoid constuction sites if possible on long runs with the club.