Replying to the question in the thread title:
It all depends on your pavement. There's a big variety between cities, hell, within Los Angeles there's a HUGE difference between PARTS of the city. Where I do my fast training rides of course has nice pavement. Where I ride if I'm commuting or running errands can go from a fresh laid bike lane to "is this cyclocross?"
I think this is more about your definition of "pavement" =)