There is a very good visual illustration of the power of cumulative effect on the cycle path that runs round the east side of Oxford. Works to finish off the water main repair are still underway and so cyclists are still having to divert across a grass verge to travel a short way along the adjoining footpath.

I don’t know how many cyclists use the route but within a day you can see a clear path formed by the passage of tyres and a barren scar is created within a few days. On some sections, which have been in use for a year or so, even the top soil is giving way to the underlying stony mixture.

They should be finished by the middle of next month (although they should also have been finished last November) so the next thing to observe is how long it takes for the scars to heal and disappear.