PORTLAND -- They may have been helpful during the storm, but as people around the Portland Metro area are finding, sand and gravel don't melt.

The gravel can get kicked up and cause rock chips on windshields.

"It kicks up, makes you a little dirty, it's a little slippery so I try not to turn into it," said Adam Ortman, on a break from riding his bike in Southwest Portland, Sunday.

It was a tough weekend for bicyclists like Ortman, who had trouble avoiding the tiny rocks, since bike lanes were temporary holding zones for the stuff. To make matters worse, several bike lanes were still covered in heaps of snow pushed there by plows, temporarily pushing cyclists into traffic lanes.

"I know the city's doing what it can do," added Ortman. "It's just a bummer that occasionally the bike lanes end up being the snow plow lanes and there are mounds of snow coming my way!"

"Motorists need to share the road," advised Cheryl Kuck, of The City of Portland's Bureau of Transportation.

It can also cause rock chips in car windshields when tires kick up the gravel.

"With bicyclists still forced to ride in a travel lane, it's important that everyone share the road cautiously, courteously, responsibly and look out for each other," she said.

Kuck added that while gravel is on the ground, motorists should also keep extra distance between other drivers, since it takes longer to slow down under those conditions. She said at some point, crews will recover about 75% of the gravel, but right now their priority is clearing the drainage system.

"We were expecting 2-3 inches of rain after the storm, but it never came," said Kuck. "We're grateful for mother nature for that," she said. "It was like a late Christmas present that we didn't get that rain because we were really concerned about clogged catch basins."

In the coming weeks, cyclists and drivers will both have to contend with pot holes, the result of excess water expanding under the pavement.

As the snow melts, it's also revealing streets riddled with debris, like abandoned snow chains and a plethora of unidentified scattered garbage.

Mix in a dash of sand and gravel?

"It's not very fun," said Ortman.