I found that on Vancouver Island, too. They have great road surfaces there. Smooth pavment makes a *huge* difference.

So do tires. I don't notice yucky chipseal pavement as much when I ride my Saluki with the 35 mm tires inflated to about 55 psi. When Lee and I went up Calaveras Road near Fremont a few weeks ago, I was thinking to myself "wow, they repaved it nicey", but then I looked down at it and realized, no, notsomuch. It just felt that much smoother on the Saluki's tires.