In Finland it's customary to spread copious amounts of gravel to icy pavements and roads to keep people from slipping and hurting themselves as well as to help cars up steep hills and get going in intersections. Trouble is, this eskar gravel is becoming more and more expensive as the supplies from hillsides this is excavated from are running. Apparently, no more permits are given to open up new sources to conserve the nature. Thus the keep-people-walking-upright-in-winter departments have turned to another material to increase friction, which is bigger rocks ground to small pebbles.
This is all fine, as the finely ground rocks do the same thing for cars and pedestrians as the gravel used to do. Thing is, the stuff is murder to bike wheels. Many of the small pieces of stone have extremely sharp edges, which easily punch a hole through bike tyres if you run over them.
Last winter I had three punctures. Today morning was #1 for this one.
More philosophically, this one instance where conserving natural resources translates spending more elsewhere. Grinding rocks to produce this stuff must some energy. De-motivating people who ride a bike to work means they use means of transport with an internal combustion engine and thus CO2 emissions. I am waiting to be picked up right now in out family hatchback. Finally many more rubber inner tubes have to be manufactured, packaged and shipped to Finland to be punctured. I've read stories from more frequent cyclists of going through half a dozen each winter. I know that in the balance my vote would be on making a new hole for the non-puncturing gravel, as I start fixing yet another tyre...
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