best find on the road

[LoneBiker]

Anyone who rides regurally on the road, especially minor highways, soon learns of all the great swag that is there for the taking! Even when its not great its definately amusing. If not atleast an endless supply of bungee cords for your rack. Im sure you all have some good finds, ill list a few of mine starting with the coolest.

a throwing axe

a smashed gameboy and a working copy of pokemon with a bunch of level 100 pokemon that i sold for 20 bucks on ebay

a blank canvas with frame

a foam duck attatched to a clothes pin

a bunch of random tools

bungee cords!

a towing chain

a towing chain for towing semis, took me and another to get it off the ground.

cd's! ive got atleast 5, (matchbox20, uncle cracker, some local hip hop, cdr compilation cd's

all i can remember right now, but im sure im not the only person who hasnt much to the chagrin of their roomates brought some ungodly or great stuff home.

[Raymo853]

I found a working Gameboy Color with a Pokemon Crytal game in it. I too have found tools, bungie cords, and cash. The other thing I have scored are thrown away bikes, two mid-level Schwinn MTBs, a kick ass Cook Brothers Cruiser from the 80's, a low level Diamon Back MTB and a Raliegh 3 speed. I've also found a lot of fire wood for friends of mine to come back later to get with their trucks.

[Andy in Wi]

When riding in pairs, sometimes garbage takes on the form of a real treasure. For example, my friend Ira and myself were riding along after scaling up a building to get a good view. It's halloween, people are out all over Chicago, some people dressed, and some people not. Well, our path was leading us to a house that was inhabited by Marcus, a friend of Ira's. Along the way, we happend to find a bumper (the plastic kind found on early 90's compact japanese imports). So, to get in with the spirit of the day, we dressed our bikes up as a car. The looks we got were great, and the fun factor was way up, despite the bumper being a seemingly useless dis-car-ed part. Some guy from New York decided we were crazy enough for a picture.
Other than that, just the usual collection of small tools, bolts, chopper parts (ie. scrap metal), a cd, and such. No bungies as of yet.
-WiBA

[INTENSEe]

I found a tennis ball and I kept it with the intention of giving it to my dog to play with, But some moron cut me off and honked at me, then the passenger rolled down their window and told me to get off the road. I just sat their at the stop light looking at the tennis ball I just found and as they drove off I just chucked it and nailed the back window. I was and am still laughing at the looks on their face. LOL!! man I guess I was lucky they didn't turn around and run over me? but I think they were scared of the crazey man riding his bike down a major road in the winter (ME). Peace and good luck finding cool stuff. Good aim pays!
Erik Carlson
INTENSEe (http://www.intensee.com)

[Mauriceman]

When i was 14, I found a rusty pair of Vise Grips on the ground. Been using them 30 years.

And since are so many golf courses in Western PA, so I pick up every golf ball I find on the trail. Saving them for when I get old and take up golf.

[leapfrog]

get "old" and take up golf? hell, send those golf balls my way. i started at 9 and never managed to give it up. plus i never learned to get good enough to avoid the water hazards. i'm always needing more golf balls. :)

scott
leapfrog bike zine

[greyback]

Set of Dentures. (No, I didn't tote them home!)

[JRA]

Found it while I was riding my bike to work. It was in perfect shape and I still use it. I also found a nifty warm scarf for use on those cold winter rides.

I need some more stuff ... as soon as I get a job again, hopefully I'll be able to find some more goodies. ;)

[borregobill]

hey y'all, thanks for the great topic!
gave me some laughs... i've been "officially" commuting for some time now and see all kinds of swag. always frowned at it as a hindrance, now i'll be looking more carefully!!

[The Gordo]

I found enough Marlboro Miles to get a kick ass duffle bag, two blankets and a Swiss Army Watch!

[quazar76]

That's right, I found a perfectly good ab roller out for the garbage.
Threw it in the back o my truck, sterilized it when I got home and have been trying to use it when I can muster the motivation. It is a hell of a lot easier and more comfortable than doing manual sit-ups or crunches.

1 three foot heavy duty black rubber bungee.

1 30 pack of miller genuine draft-well preserved by a wintry mix of weather conditions.

1 flourescent green haro freestyle bike from like 84'. It has peregrine spokes, and says BOB HARO on the chain stays. This bike has very little rust and looks and rides sweet.

Since I only have one Mt. bike I can often be seen criusing my retro bmx arounnd the city of Piksburgh.

[LoneBiker]

one night riding home from work at about 1:30am riding down the highway there was trash everywhere, like a newspaper truck blew up. i pulled over and looked at one of the flyers. It was a ballot for a local union election. there were hundreds of them spread about over about 10 miles, like someone was driving down the highway throwing them out the window. sounds like a conspiracy to me.


or there was the time, January 21st, riding home about the same time, i was treated to something totally kickass. the weather conditions were just perfect that the Northern Lights were visible in indiana, like the first time in a decade or something!! for about an hour i was treated to a spectacular colored sky of red and orange streaks and all sorts of other colors. the entire northern part of the horizon was super colorful. its one of the most memorable night rides ive had.

[timber]

the best find ive had was one night i was riding and found 4 c-cell maglight, turned on, just laying in the middle of the road. lit the way home and ive still got it.

[JerseyDevil]

I don't know why, but over the past week I've seen an enormous amount of hats and gloves. Must've been a bitch fight somewhere.

[LoneBiker]

after the september bombing of years past, riding downt the highway everyday id find enough of those stupid stick in your door crack american flags to decorate an entire car dealership. evidently they either dont make these very sturdy(ironically they werent likely even made in america) or people just dont know how to put them on right.

[timber]

more than likely the driver forgot it was there and rolled down the window. only to find their flag gone when they got home.

[hairygrump]

Lonebiker goes:
after the september bombing of years past, riding downt the highway everyday id find enough of those stupid stick in your door crack american flags to decorate an entire car dealership. evidently they either dont make these very sturdy(ironically they werent likely even made in america) or people just dont know how to put them on right.

Then timber was all:
more than likely the driver forgot it was there and rolled down the window. only to find their flag gone when they got home.

I guess most people's patriotism only extends as far as they're willing to smell their own farts.

[mtnbkerman]

Yeah, this is a little combination of stuff found between my older bro, and myself and I am also including some stuff found along on MTB trails as well.

2 pairs Oakley M-Frame glasses, took 'em to an Oakley rep at a big race, got the frames and lenses replaced free
1 pair Arnette Catfish, still in good shape
countless CO2 cartridges
practically a whole outfit of clothing, albeit didn't take them as a matter of pride considering god knows where they had been
tubes
waterbottles(once you clean 'em they are good as new)
1 unopened bottle of Colt 45
1 Marijuana plant
money
So, as you can see, we have found a good bit of stuff, and Ima sure that he probably has found a few more things that I haven't seen or been told about.

[EatDirt]

Nice framing hammer
Two handed screwdriver,
and since I live near a UPS depot, I find utility knives all the time! It's great!

My brother found a good sized socket set that had fallen off a truck and burst. Took him a while to pick them all up, but he found most of them.

Found a woman's watch in the woods once, too. I made sure the owner wasn't lying around, luckily found noone.:eek:

[bicycle_boy]

my mind

[LoneBiker]

id have to say that thats the best thing any of us have found on the road, but, indeed, at the same time im sure all of us have found that subtle hint of sanity when it is just you and the whirring of gears and rubber hitting earth.

[i8urbrain]

This year among all the stuff I found a box from a pair of Avid Speed Dial 5 levers I had just sold to a young kid in my shop. The very next day the young gentalman came into my store. I gave him back the box and then told him how lucky it was I found it for him. His shocked face was the best think I have been able to see all year. Then he asked me to throw away the box for him. I did so with out the usual lecture, or grief. Mostly I meet lots of good people who are commuting on the same trail, or roadway.

[Pedro]

I have found quite a few cell phones on the side of the road, and all of them worked.

A few have had cracked LCD, but people on ebay will buy all kinds of crazy stuff if you have it.

the best was this motorola that was pretty cool looking, but kept beeping for no reason so I threw it at my wall and then the LCD cracked, but some guy bought it for 70 bucks on eBay!

I have also found:

-christmas ornaments
-1/2 lb freshly ground S'bux coffee
-a dog
-an object looking very similar to a device for smoking crack.
-porn
-car keys, no car though
-little kids shoes
-loaves of bread
-the list goes on.....

[Andy in Wi]

Today after snowshoeing through a ravine, by the river, up a bike trail, and sliding down a hill on my chest, I was riding back to the shop when a brand new 60" hard wood pole for brooms, mops, and whatnot caught my eye. So I grabbed it and jousted with traffic. It's funny how much respect I suddenly got because I had a 60" pole sticking out in front of the bike. People thought I was going to run their cars through or something.
-WiBA

[LoneBiker]

Yeah, you get more respect, or visibility, when you carry funny shit on your bike in town. LIke when i rode home with an inflatable kayak on the back of my bike, it reached up almost to my shoulders and was wider than me.

[Rotifer]

"Fear is the mind killer"

I found a Gom Jabar the other day, oh, and a pair of Craftsmen pruning shears.

[jeff_sc_bullit]

the best i've found on the way to work two days ago, that could be taken home, was a jean jacket that fit my nine yr. old son. sometimes i will take a trail with a long steep hill climb in the woods, and ran across a car that had fallen through the ice in the ruts of a 4x4, had a very drunk guy behind the wheel, said his budy walked out to get a tow truck. on the same trail last spring found a dodge ramcharger hung up in deep mud, inside was a weed eater a bag full of change, tools, tapes, a car battery, bunch of other junk and the guys registration card, went to his house talked to his old lady, said i could pull him out with my bronco and left my phone # 4 months later it was still there and i never recieved a call.

[Biggles]

Originally posted by Raymo853
I found a working Gameboy Color with a Pokemon Crytal game in it. I too have found tools, bungie cords, and cash. The other thing I have scored are thrown away bikes, two mid-level Schwinn MTBs, a kick ass Cook Brothers Cruiser from the 80's, a low level Diamon Back MTB and a Raliegh 3 speed. I've also found a lot of fire wood for friends of mine to come back later to get with their trucks.


good find on those cruisers and classic bikes, I have found lots of little kids bikes and 24" mtb i take them home and either mix and match them to make working bikes or I strip them of partws then chop them, but I think the most often find i have is shoes.....how do people lose shoes? and not even both of them big ones little ones i jsut dont get it as far as i know ive never lost just one shoe and alcohol had a lot to do wiht me losing a whole pair.

[i8urbrain]

The best thing I find on my commute is shorter routs to get places. My wife drives and never seems to believe that I know a shorter way. Then she trusts me and acts like she found the way threw our neighborhood.

I found a woman crying the other day sitting on a bench, when I asked her if everything was ok, she dried her eyes and thanked me for asking. Then she jogged on. I know what kind of issues I work out, when I am on my bike, so I understand just how she felt. Maybe knowing somone gave a shit made her feel a bit better.

[LoneBiker]

The bike trailer i bought for 40 dollars at the thrift store earlier in the day! On the way home with it tied hapharzardly to the 1 dollar bike rack i also bought, the rack snapped off the car doing about 45mph and i drug it down the middle of a 4 lane road half a block before i got to a stop. thankfully the trailer survived with minor scuffing, the bike rack if fixable, and i, uh, really dont care about the car, other than the bike bumper stickers and the many dings that signify all the cargo ive carried on a bike rack.

[dave66]

Awesome topic!

guess my best finds have been:
nice fox racing jersey
razor scooter [made my daughter's day]
cellphone [busted - damn!]
a twenty
porn - when out biking with your buds when u are 14 it is like finding the holy grail....
:D

[SteveO]

Back in college I was riding back to the off campus co-op house I lived in when I saw a twenty dollar bill lying in the road among the leaves. I whipped the bike around and pedaled back and grabbed it before the autumn wind blew it away. In another 50 ft. I found a ten dollar bill in the street. I scooped that up too. Nearby, there was a paper envelope with another $56 in it along with several gas station reciepts from the other side of town.

Being a clueless college kid from a small town I totally blown away by my find. My head was spinning with the money and my eyes were scanning the pavement for other bills that may have gotten free of the open envelope. Confused and conflicted I walked my bike to the first house on the right and knocked on the door to inquire if they had lost a good sum of cash and some reciepts. I sat there for probably 20-30 seconds listening to the doorbell and thinking about the money. The receipts had no identification on them other then the name of the gas station.... No one was home. I walked back to my bike, quickly surveyed the block to see if anyone was eyeing me, and stuffed the money in my backpack and rode home.

The money was promptly spent on Carling's Black Label, a new Ministry CD, and some assorted bike stuff I needed. My commuter findings have all been downhill since then...

[FishMan]

Once found a blow up in a roadside ditch. Left it where it was.

[dave66]

:D :D :D

too funny and a wise move!
reminds me of another find - not roadside but on mtn bike ride
- not quite a blow up, but a 'anantomically complete' rubber ass!

:eek:

ya, left that one where i found it as well

[Bart Peath]

I seem to have an eye for roadside stuff. Dunno why - been like that for as long as I can remember. In grade school I remember finding coins under the monkey bars from kids hanging upside down.

Best find while commuting was a DeWalt battery charger - noticed it buried in a clump of dead grass and garbage in a curb. Hauled it home, opened it up. Filled with dirt, etc. I'm sure it had been through several rainstorms. Cleaned it as well as I could and plugged it in - works great! Extra bonus for me since I homebrew my lights and use modified DeWalt chargers to recharge my batteries.

[CRUM]

By far, the best thing I ever found was my way home.

Found a chainsaw once on a mtn bike ride. Since I knew the wood cutter who was working that section, I begrudgingly gave it back to him. It was a bitch getting it out of the woods. Finding a way to carry a chainsaw with no guard on bike is a challenge.

I had a friend who found a dead body once. He stopped to adjust something and there the dude was, in the ditch and cold. Apparently the old fellow was hard into alzheimmer's and had wandered off. He had a heart attack. The funny thing was he had been missing for 2 or 3 days and his family hadn't filed a missing person report.

[LoneBiker]

A fairly nice BMX bike, complete minus tires and the singlespeed gear. The wheels were off, it was in a pile in an alley, with the aid of 2 bungee cords, i strapped the whole bike to my back rack, and rode(slowly) the 2 miles home.

On another note, its a great feeling to have been away from the computer for some time, just to see that my topic is stil alive and well.

[mudfly]

you can tell when the economy is bad because the road swag isn't anygood. Things may be on the up swing though, I found a good 8 tool Swiss Army knife on my ride through the la brea car pits" (South Troy NY).

[model3224]

about two weeks ago i was practicing my bunny hops and staircase descents at the giant parking garage that makes up half of towson town center. i stop for a smoke, and right next to the public ashtray was a combination knife, flashlight, and whistle. it promptly found a place in my knapsack, along with the rest of my tools.

because you never know when you might need a whistle.

i also remember when voltaire played at the ottobar last month, i spent all my money to get in. and when the show ended, i was starving. i make it out of the city, and i was headed to my friends dorm at goucher college. the performance bike shop was on the way, so i figured i'd go dumpster dive and see what i could turn up. nothing.

but i did find 20 bucks in the denny's parking lot. that grand slam never tasted so good.

[oatmeal]

This is good, one particular week a couple years ago was the motherlode! Everyday I found something new, first were women’s panties/bras a new pair everyday for over a week, then one day there was a big purple "toy" about a foot long, a "Big Jim's" pen!s pump, several XXX DVDs and VHS tapes, mags, a box of Trojans, a Gerber multi-tool, a lawn sprinkler, a wedding ring a couple of $20's and a bunch of vodka bottles all within a mile-mile and a half stretch of road. Either this guy was a hell of a partier or his old lady busted him and started tossing his stuff out the car window!! The best had to be when I found a naked chik (hooker?) on the side of the road, well she wasn't exactly lost just kicked out of this dudes car after she was done "servicing" him, the rotten bastard kept her clothes!! . Man that was funny.......I could go one, but I won't.

[dave66]

oatmeal - you win - hands down!
question is, what kinda neighbourhood do you live in man? porn, hookers, cash....just don't get that kinda merchandise on the outskirts of ottawa!
:D

[oatmeal]

I live in the burbs of Suds City where beer is king!! That is Milwaukee Wisconsin USA. Like I said it was an odd week, I usually don't find stuff like that, normally it is the typical trash bottles, bunji cords and Burger King wrappers etc. I thought during the Harley-Davidson 100th I would find all kinds of cool stuff, but not a darn thing...bikers these days are a bunch of boring professionals.

[mudfly]

Originally posted by oatmeal
there was a big purple "toy" about a foot long, a "Big Jim's" pen!s pump, several XXX DVDs and VHS tapes, mags, a box of Trojans, a Gerber multi-tool, a lawn sprinkler, a wedding ring a couple of $20's and a bunch of vodka bottles all within a mile-mile and a half stretch of road.

I can draw a mental picture with most of the items found. But the multi tool and lawn sprinkler? that is some sick shit! must be some freaky muthas in Milwalkee!

[dave66]

hey remember back in school when you would be shown a picture and you would have to come up with a story based on the picture?
perhaps we should try something like that with oatmeal's milwalkee finds...
here's my kick:
real pissed off housewifedriving down the road - pitchin' hub's porn stash, dome's all his cash and weddin' ring to boot
but the sprinkler? k - that one's got me stumped..........

[stump ss]

those are all good. real good. but how 'bout the stuff that we use to guide ourselves around local singletrack? the weird shit that you don't know HOW it got all the way out there, but it's there and that's where you know to turn left?

when i was in NC, the trails in chapel hill (somebody please tell me these aren't yet paved over) were full of this, but it wasn't garbage anymore, it had become iconic or something like that. there was one trail intersection at the old corvair, and another one near an old washing machine. the best though was the old newspaper box out in the middle of the freakin' woods. looong way from any road. my buddy mike kept talking about putting together a newsletter and putting a bunch of copies out there, but i moved away before he ever tried that. but it made describing the trails great "yah, then turn right when you see the newspaper box, go over the jumps and then past the corvair..."

otherwise i guess the only cool thing i ever found (and left) along the side of the road was a wig. blonde, cheap-ass wig. it looked cootified that's why i left it.

[adam1]

last time i was in chapel hill a couple of months ago the trails were still there