As cyclists, we\’re bound to encounter a wide variety of riding surfaces. That road at above left looks wonderfully smooth. If only we could always have such a road to ride!

Above right looks like one of those textured metal stairs that we find outdoors sometimes. I don\’t think it would be much fun to have to ride over that, especially when it\’s wet. It looks like it would be maddeningly bumpy even dry, and I suspect that it could make steering tricky.

Loose rocks, and all different shapes and sizes. It would be fun to sort through them to find the prettiest rock, but it wouldn\’t be much fun riding over them. Even supposing the layer of rocks is very shallow, and has a firm surface beneath, a rider would have to be extremely careful to hold a straight line, I think. Trying to turn could well catch the front wheel and bring the cyclist down.

As to below right, is that even a road? I hope not! It looks frightful.

If you do have to ride over an irregular surface, they say that you need to stay relaxed. Tightening up is likely to exaggerate any movements of the handlebars. Let the bicycle chose its path, especially in mountain biking.

I, for one, don\’t intend to go out of my way to find terrible riding surfaces, but sometimes they\’re hard to avoid. My home town has plenty of streets that are in disgraceful condition, and have been for years. Is it like that everywhere?