Quote Originally Posted by kfergos View Post
I second this. Cycling is about taking acceptable risks after mitigating whatever risks we can. Every time we go out we risk serious injury or death, but it's acceptable because we're careful and alert. If we let anything hazardous keep us off the roads, we'd never get out at all! I agree sand is certainly dangerous to cyclists, but with diligence (and the right tires; fat treaded ones in the winter make a big difference for stability on sandy surfaces) we can fairly safely venture out even in sandy conditions.

I totally get what you guys are saying, but my personal choice is going to be not to ride until some of the sand is off the road. I live in a rural area where it is pretty dangerous to ride anyway (no shoulders or bike lanes, etc.) and the addition of sand on the road is too risky for my taste. I knew I shouldn't ride, I tried it out, and now I know I don't want to risk it. And I was being very careful. If others are ok with it, that's fine with me. I'm just saying for me, no more riding on sandy roads. I am actually very glad they sand our roads when it's snowy. I'd rather give up riding on my local roads for a couple of month a year than have my car slide off the road when it snows.