Iwas out for a ride with my friend Bernard last week. We took a route that neither of us had taken for years, with rolling hills, a lot of very quiet lanes, high hedges and overhanging trees. It was the perfect terrain for making potholes .

And the trees meant they were very hard to see. And the hills made sure that on a descent you could build up enough speed to hit them really, really hard. The one I hit nearly threw me off - I just about managed to catch myself, and then managed to stop safely with a front-wheel puncture .

I stopped and fixed it, while Bernard ate a flapjack and deflected all attempts to start a conversation about how his new little electric pump worked and how much faster than a manual pump it might be. When I was finished, he said, "Did you check the rim for cra

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