My heroes: the rural township road commissioners and their constituents who are willing to spend the extra for oil-and-chip, instead of gravel. Oil and chip is considered a flimsy road surface that does not stand up to heavy traffic. And you have to spread sand in super-hot weather.

But oil and chip is great for light traffic vehicles, such as bikes. It’s a lot better than gravel, but it does cost more than gravel — so I praise the road maintenance folks whose oil and chip roads make rural riding a lot more enjoyable.