Dealing with Sand

I live in South-Central Florida, so you could say that I am almost completely surrounded by sand since I am almost completely surrounded by beaches. But that isn't the extent of it. Florida is basically nothing BUT sand, absolutely everywhere. So around here you can expect to hit some nice deep sand pits no matter where you are riding. Here is how to deal with all that sand if you live here or someplace like it.

The biggest key is to NOT sink and lose all your speed. So, as you approach what looks like deep sand, look for a furrow left by a previous rider, a furrow that runs nice and straight to the other side. Do your best to ride in the middle of the furrow and don't turn your front wheel even a smidgen and always pedal through.

There is a simple reason for this. Sand is a lot like water. The greater the surface area exposed to the sand, the more bouyant you are. When you ride through sand, you will sink until the sand is all around your tires, supporting your tire from below and around the sides (the sides of your tires push sand to the left and right, and there is a bouyant force there also), until you are bouyant with respect to the sand. Obviously, if you ride on narrow tires, you are going to sink a lot farther. So, if you ride through a furrow accurately, your tires will already be supported on the bottom and around the sides with very little sinking. Less sinking means less speed loss. This does work! It's a simple matter of physics.

If no furrow is available, you get to be the one making it for the next person. The only advice I have is to keep your front wheel light. Meaning lean back a little and keep your front wheel gliding over the sand. If your front wheel sinks in too much, your stopped. Oh, and pedal through.

Okay, that only works when you hit sand with a decent amount of speed. What if you have to go through sand at a very low speed for some reason? That's a tough one. You'll need to be standing up. Hit the sand with a gear that you might use for a hard climb and churn your legs for all you are worth until you get out. There is no way to get traction in sand, you have dig your way through. I say dig because your back tire will probably end up tearing it's way through the sand, shooting a rooster-tail of sand with each pedal stroke.

Now, about that front wheel being straight. If you are riding in a furrow and turn your wheel just a little bit, your front tire will dig into the side of the furrow. Because it's sand you'll have no real traction and sand will begin to pile up in front of your wheel rapidly until your front tire digs so hard that your front wheel turns the rest of the way in that direction and you could end up over the handlebars. Not to mention you'll lose all your speed...

Same thing applies when you are riding across un-furrowed sand. If you turn your wheel, the low traction will cause the tire to slide sideways and pile up sand, and the inevitable result is you will begin with a sluggish turn that becomes a hard turn and you'll come to a fast halt. Possibly go over the handlebars.

To sum it up, keep up your speed, keep your front tire pointed straight ahead, ride in a furrow if you can.