Riding and road surface

One of the most important qualities of a good bike ride, falling right after "donut" in the Top 10, is how well the road surface is paved. There is nothing like the sound of bike tires humming across a nicely-paved road but you bike riders might have noticed that not all roads are equal. I was curious about how the decision is made whether to patch potholes or put down a glass-like surface over miles of road. So I called Matt Randall at the Placer County Road Division. The effect of road surface on bike riding is an important factor to consider for cyclists of all levels. Different types of road surfaces can have different impacts on the speed, comfort, safety and performance of bike riding. Some of the common road surfaces that cyclists encounter are asphalt, concrete, gravel, dirt and grass. There is no question that one's speed picks up on a smooth road. While counter-intuitive, it has been found that wider tires at slightly less pressure actually roll better and faster, and are more comfortable for the rider. This is because, in part, there are not two hard surfaces (the imperfections in the road and a rock-hard tire) slamming into each other. Fewer imperfections and softer tires make for easier rolling. There are roughly 1,050 miles of paved roads in Placer County, all part of the Pavement Program which is an effort to get the most out of a limited amount of money, which comes primarily from the gas tax. There are also state and federal grants and some user fees. Roads are inspected and evaluated and put into three categories: 1. Routine: Fixing potholes and cracks. There are parts of some roads that seem to be more repaired pothole than road, with cracks wide enough to take down a road bike. 2. Preventative: Chipseal/rubberized chipseal, slurry, liquid asphalt. Ah, chipseal. While chipseal will take care of the pothole, it can rattle a bike and rider like a wooden roller coaster. 3. Overlay: Grinding off the old asphalt and starting over. Now we're talking. Remember when the downhill on Mt. Vernon was repaved? And Virginiatown? We endured a few months of laying water pipe but it's still one of the smoothest roads in the area. Of course, slurry and chipseal are much cheaper, as much as 30 miles can be redone for the cost of two to three miles of an overlay. As you seven loyal readers know, many of the rural roads here in western Placer were originally horse and wagon roads, connecting ranches with town. Many defined the boundaries of ranches established in the 19th -century (and are still named for the owners of those ranches), most have little shoulder and, of course, no bike lane. There was a minimum of engineering done when they were laid out. These roads present extra problems for maintenance, since the original engineering, grading and bases layers are not up to modern standards. We riders can all attest to the irregularity of the road surfaces (think Sisley, Fleming and, increasingly, McCourtney). I came away from my conversation with Matt with the feeling we cyclists are not being forgotten as roads are repaired and paved. Of course, it's always about money. The Road Division is in touch with area bike groups and trying to do what they can. If you come across a pothole, crack, etc. that presents a particular danger to cyclists, call Placer Public Works at 530-745-7565 or for Lincoln, call 916-434-2481. To my six loyal readers: As an experiment, I suggested "Road surface effect on cycling" to an AI generator. The fourth paragraph comes from a 496-word column created by Artificial Intelligence instead of my Minimal Intelligence. Tom Frady is a Lincoln resident and avid cyclist and driver.