Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Commuting
Reload this Page >

What have you found on the ground while riding?

Notices
Commuting Bicycle commuting is easier than you think, before you know it, you'll be hooked. Learn the tips, hints, equipment, safety requirements for safely riding your bike to work.

What have you found on the ground while riding?

Old 05-28-19, 09:02 AM
  #1001  
RubeRad
Keepin it Wheel
 
RubeRad's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: San Diego
Posts: 10,238

Bikes: Surly CrossCheck, Krampus

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 26 Post(s)
Liked 3,399 Times in 2,510 Posts
Last Fri I found two things on the same ride

1. a Suorin Air vape device (at first I thought it might be an old ipod). It is right now sitting on the breakroom counter with a FREE postit. One of these millenials around here will want it I'm sure.

2. a 24", 1/2" drive breaker bar. A little bent, actually, might have gotten run over. That's OK. Some day when I use it to loosen a drive-side bottom bracket cup, it will be worth lugging it home.
RubeRad is offline  
Old 05-28-19, 03:59 PM
  #1002  
ChinookTx
Full Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Gatineau, Quebec
Posts: 293

Bikes: Lynskey GR270

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 115 Post(s)
Liked 69 Times in 49 Posts
Originally Posted by RubeRad
Some day when I use it to loosen a drive-side bottom bracket cup, it will be worth lugging it home.
Did you already have a non-drive side breaker bar? ;-)
ChinookTx is offline  
Old 05-28-19, 04:24 PM
  #1003  
CliffordK
Senior Member
 
CliffordK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Eugene, Oregon, USA
Posts: 27,600
Mentioned: 217 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18320 Post(s)
Liked 4,489 Times in 3,338 Posts
Originally Posted by ChinookTx
Did you already have a non-drive side breaker bar? ;-)
I presume if one is working on a vintage bike, the NDS (adjustable cup) gets worked on periodically, but the DS can stay stuck for a very long time.

Just last night I was coming home and found a pile of tools laying beside the road. Maybe a 24" adjustable wrench, a 12" adjustable wrench, and a breaker bar, all in a pile.

But, it was on the shoulder of the road, between the road and a small pond that had some recent excavation work. So, I walked down the driveway and found someone that I talked to who said his brother had borrowed his tools and left them along the road

Anyway, so I told him where they were, and left them. They were gone this morning.

Would have been a sweet "Find". But, they also didn't appear as if they had simply fallen there.
CliffordK is offline  
Old 05-28-19, 04:25 PM
  #1004  
RubeRad
Keepin it Wheel
 
RubeRad's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: San Diego
Posts: 10,238

Bikes: Surly CrossCheck, Krampus

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 26 Post(s)
Liked 3,399 Times in 2,510 Posts
No, previously I have used the 8" or so 8mm L-wrench from my Nashbar Essentials toolkit, extended with the hollow steel tube lever that pumps the hydraulic floor jack I use for my car. Now I'll be able to just use the 24" breaker bar. (and I think if I can stick this thing into my hydraulic jack, I'll also get better leverage)
RubeRad is offline  
Old 05-28-19, 04:27 PM
  #1005  
RubeRad
Keepin it Wheel
 
RubeRad's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: San Diego
Posts: 10,238

Bikes: Surly CrossCheck, Krampus

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 26 Post(s)
Liked 3,399 Times in 2,510 Posts
Originally Posted by CliffordK
I presume if one is working on a vintage bike, the NDS (adjustable cup) gets worked on periodically, but the DS can stay stuck for a very long time.

Just last night I was coming home and found a pile of tools laying beside the road. Maybe a 24" adjustable wrench, a 12" adjustable wrench, and a breaker bar, all in a pile.

But, it was on the shoulder of the road, between the road and a small pond that had some recent excavation work. So, I walked down the driveway and found someone that I talked to who said his brother had borrowed his tools and left them along the road

Anyway, so I told him where they were, and left them. They were gone this morning.

Would have been a sweet "Find". But, they also didn't appear as if they had simply fallen there.
You're a better man than me! With me, at best, I would have had the tools already in my kittier, and if I ran across a worker just down the road, I would ask if he dropped them.
RubeRad is offline  
Old 05-28-19, 04:52 PM
  #1006  
CliffordK
Senior Member
 
CliffordK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Eugene, Oregon, USA
Posts: 27,600
Mentioned: 217 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18320 Post(s)
Liked 4,489 Times in 3,338 Posts
Originally Posted by RubeRad
You're a better man than me! With me, at best, I would have had the tools already in my kittier, and if I ran across a worker just down the road, I would ask if he dropped them.
Oh, maybe it was the big adjustable wrench, and a big pipe wrench, plus the smaller adjustable wrench. All in a pile together.

I'd have struggled to carry them home, but would have figured it out.

Could well have been worth $100+, and would have been missed.

I have, of course found plenty of stuff, but that was more piled than dropped.

I also gave up a genuine Leatherman Skeletool that I found suspiciously near the end of a person's driveway, again on the road shoulder.

Not a scratch on it (as one might have seen if it had been dropped on the road, ran over a few times, etc).

But, it was such a sweet knife, I bought one for myself later.
CliffordK is offline  
Old 05-30-19, 06:14 PM
  #1007  
erf
Junior Member
 
erf's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 17
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Sorry about bad pic, but someone will not have toast in the morning.
erf is offline  
Likes For erf:
Old 06-11-19, 02:58 PM
  #1008  
Korina
Happy banana slug
 
Korina's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Arcata, California, U.S., North America, Earth, Saggitarius Arm, Milky Way
Posts: 3,752

Bikes: 1984 Araya MB 261, 1992 Specialized Rockhopper Sport, 1993 Hard Rock Ultra, 1994 Trek Multitrack 750, 1995 Trek Singletrack 930

Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1524 Post(s)
Liked 1,513 Times in 906 Posts
I thought the thundering herds of earthworms was peculiar, until yesterday's migration of the caterpillars. o.O Dozens, maybe hundreds of small grey/green caterpillars crossing the trail in the marsh for no good reason.
Korina is offline  
Old 06-11-19, 04:04 PM
  #1009  
Darth Lefty 
Disco Infiltrator
 
Darth Lefty's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Folsom CA
Posts: 13,775

Bikes: Stormchaser, Paramount, Tilt, Samba tandem

Mentioned: 72 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3126 Post(s)
Liked 2,102 Times in 1,366 Posts
^^^ my second year of junior high was at a new school that had been opened too far in advance of the nearby new housing. We had several migrations across campus.

One migration was toads. A bad kid* picked up a toad and just threw it as hard and as far away as he could. It was the cruelest thing I'd ever yet seen really happen in front of me, which I guess means I was pretty well sheltered.






*yes, he was
__________________
Genesis 49:16-17
Darth Lefty is offline  
Old 06-11-19, 08:42 PM
  #1010  
Korina
Happy banana slug
 
Korina's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Arcata, California, U.S., North America, Earth, Saggitarius Arm, Milky Way
Posts: 3,752

Bikes: 1984 Araya MB 261, 1992 Specialized Rockhopper Sport, 1993 Hard Rock Ultra, 1994 Trek Multitrack 750, 1995 Trek Singletrack 930

Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1524 Post(s)
Liked 1,513 Times in 906 Posts
Originally Posted by Darth Lefty
A bad kid* picked up a toad and just threw it as hard and as far away as he could. It was the cruelest thing I'd ever yet seen really happen in front of me, which I guess means I was pretty well sheltered.
It means you were pretty lucky.
Korina is offline  
Old 06-18-19, 10:00 AM
  #1011  
Korina
Happy banana slug
 
Korina's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Arcata, California, U.S., North America, Earth, Saggitarius Arm, Milky Way
Posts: 3,752

Bikes: 1984 Araya MB 261, 1992 Specialized Rockhopper Sport, 1993 Hard Rock Ultra, 1994 Trek Multitrack 750, 1995 Trek Singletrack 930

Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1524 Post(s)
Liked 1,513 Times in 906 Posts
This morning I found a 7' eucalyptus branch right across the 8' highway shoulder. The rider ahead of me must've ridden around it, riding perilously close to the rumble strip. The cyclist behind me just zoomed on past as I pitched it over the guard rail. It was thoroughly dead, maybe five lbs. Still would've hurt landing on your head.
Korina is offline  
Old 06-18-19, 10:11 AM
  #1012  
beach_cycle
Senior Member
 
beach_cycle's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Los Angeles, California
Posts: 88

Bikes: 2021 Electra Townie 7D equipped; 2019 Monterey 26" Seven Speed Trike

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 16 Post(s)
Liked 20 Times in 14 Posts
What is this?

A couple days ago I thought I saw a hex key, but when I picked it up...



Thing

What is it and what is it used for?
beach_cycle is offline  
Old 06-18-19, 10:55 AM
  #1013  
Korina
Happy banana slug
 
Korina's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Arcata, California, U.S., North America, Earth, Saggitarius Arm, Milky Way
Posts: 3,752

Bikes: 1984 Araya MB 261, 1992 Specialized Rockhopper Sport, 1993 Hard Rock Ultra, 1994 Trek Multitrack 750, 1995 Trek Singletrack 930

Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1524 Post(s)
Liked 1,513 Times in 906 Posts
^ ^ ^
Korina is offline  
Old 06-18-19, 11:18 AM
  #1014  
Shimagnolo
Senior Member
 
Shimagnolo's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Zang's Spur, CO
Posts: 9,086
Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3355 Post(s)
Liked 5,432 Times in 2,811 Posts
Originally Posted by beach_cycle
A couple days ago I thought I saw a hex key, but when I picked it up...



Thing

What is it and what is it used for?
Looks like a hitch pin, but normally the shaft is smooth.
Shimagnolo is offline  
Old 06-18-19, 11:48 AM
  #1015  
RubeRad
Keepin it Wheel
 
RubeRad's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: San Diego
Posts: 10,238

Bikes: Surly CrossCheck, Krampus

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 26 Post(s)
Liked 3,399 Times in 2,510 Posts
I agree hitch pin, the gooves are probably so at whatever depth it comes out of your hitch after sticking through, you can secure it with a spring clip (not quite a cotter pin, which would need a hole in the hitch pin to go through)
RubeRad is offline  
Old 06-18-19, 04:19 PM
  #1016  
no motor?
Unlisted member
 
no motor?'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 6,193

Bikes: Specialized Hardrock

Mentioned: 29 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1376 Post(s)
Liked 432 Times in 297 Posts
Yesterday I found a tray from McDonald's and part of a phone holder for a car about 50 feet apart. I wondered if someone had set them (and more) of the roof of their car before driving off, but I didn't find anything else after that. Maybe I was too late.
no motor? is offline  
Old 06-18-19, 05:23 PM
  #1017  
ChinookTx
Full Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Gatineau, Quebec
Posts: 293

Bikes: Lynskey GR270

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 115 Post(s)
Liked 69 Times in 49 Posts
Originally Posted by RubeRad
I agree hitch pin, the gooves are probably so at whatever depth it comes out of your hitch after sticking through, you can secure it with a spring clip (not quite a cotter pin, which would need a hole in the hitch pin to go through)
Yup:

https://www.acklandsgrainger.com/en/...!608522932477!


Last edited by ChinookTx; 06-18-19 at 05:27 PM.
ChinookTx is offline  
Likes For ChinookTx:
Old 06-19-19, 08:57 AM
  #1018  
beach_cycle
Senior Member
 
beach_cycle's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Los Angeles, California
Posts: 88

Bikes: 2021 Electra Townie 7D equipped; 2019 Monterey 26" Seven Speed Trike

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 16 Post(s)
Liked 20 Times in 14 Posts
Thanks for the info. This is what Google tells me:

What is a hitch pin?

A hitch pin is commonly intended for use with a trailer hitch receiver and a removable ball mount. The pin has a standard 3/8-inch or 5/8-inch shaft diameter and a knob or bend at one end and a groove or hole with clip at the other end to hold it in place.

Guess it is the version with a groove...

Originally Posted by Shimagnolo
Looks like a hitch pin, but normally the shaft is smooth.
beach_cycle is offline  
Old 06-19-19, 09:17 AM
  #1019  
beach_cycle
Senior Member
 
beach_cycle's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Los Angeles, California
Posts: 88

Bikes: 2021 Electra Townie 7D equipped; 2019 Monterey 26" Seven Speed Trike

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 16 Post(s)
Liked 20 Times in 14 Posts
Thanks for the image/link.

Originally Posted by ChinookTx
beach_cycle is offline  
Old 06-20-19, 08:10 AM
  #1020  
andycook
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 30
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 26 Post(s)
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Finally get to contribute (I assume you have to pick the item up and take it with you). An allen wrench. Picked that up at a stop sign. Fits my bike. Left the bent spoon.

I've ridden past a hammer at another stop sign. And a nerf gun.

I should combine my other hobby of magnet fishing with cycling to get the nuts, bolts, cotter pins, etc.
andycook is offline  
Old 06-20-19, 08:22 AM
  #1021  
riverdrifter
Senior Member
 
riverdrifter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Central Illinois
Posts: 543

Bikes: 1985 Cannondale SR500, 1990 Cannondale ST600, 1993 Cannondale M700

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 170 Post(s)
Liked 272 Times in 105 Posts
Mostly thorns and rusty nails.
riverdrifter is offline  
Old 06-23-19, 12:34 PM
  #1022  
Korina
Happy banana slug
 
Korina's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Arcata, California, U.S., North America, Earth, Saggitarius Arm, Milky Way
Posts: 3,752

Bikes: 1984 Araya MB 261, 1992 Specialized Rockhopper Sport, 1993 Hard Rock Ultra, 1994 Trek Multitrack 750, 1995 Trek Singletrack 930

Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1524 Post(s)
Liked 1,513 Times in 906 Posts
Originally Posted by andycook
Finally get to contribute (I assume you have to pick the item up and take it with you). An allen wrench. Picked that up at a stop sign. Fits my bike. Left the bent spoon.

I've ridden past a hammer at another stop sign. And a nerf gun.

I should combine my other hobby of magnet fishing with cycling to get the nuts, bolts, cotter pins, etc.
It doesn't have to be something you pick up, but it's more fun if it's interesting. Like sticking a magnet fishing pole off the end of your bike.
Korina is offline  
Old 06-23-19, 12:40 PM
  #1023  
Korina
Happy banana slug
 
Korina's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Arcata, California, U.S., North America, Earth, Saggitarius Arm, Milky Way
Posts: 3,752

Bikes: 1984 Araya MB 261, 1992 Specialized Rockhopper Sport, 1993 Hard Rock Ultra, 1994 Trek Multitrack 750, 1995 Trek Singletrack 930

Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1524 Post(s)
Liked 1,513 Times in 906 Posts
All I found on my ride to work Friday was eucalyptus debris. So. much. crap. I spent a good 15 minutes stopping and throwing branches off the highway shoulder, forging a path for the commuters behind me. The longest branch was about 6 feet long, but there were a lot of shorter ones, and the pavement was covered with flower bits, the ones that squash under your tires, not the ones that make your wheels jump an inch to the right. Great Bird of the Galaxy, I want the Bay Trail so bad I can taste it. Only three more years...
Korina is offline  
Old 06-23-19, 12:50 PM
  #1024  
Shimagnolo
Senior Member
 
Shimagnolo's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Zang's Spur, CO
Posts: 9,086
Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3355 Post(s)
Liked 5,432 Times in 2,811 Posts
Originally Posted by Korina
It doesn't have to be something you pick up, but it's more fun if it's interesting. Like sticking a magnet fishing pole off the end of your bike.
I use a neodymium magnet stuck to the end of the left pedal spindle for my cadence sensor.
Twice, I've been riding along and suddenly heard a rattling in the crank region.
I stopped to find a long piece of steel wire stuck to the magnet.

Last edited by Shimagnolo; 06-23-19 at 09:46 PM.
Shimagnolo is offline  
Old 06-23-19, 12:54 PM
  #1025  
Korina
Happy banana slug
 
Korina's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Arcata, California, U.S., North America, Earth, Saggitarius Arm, Milky Way
Posts: 3,752

Bikes: 1984 Araya MB 261, 1992 Specialized Rockhopper Sport, 1993 Hard Rock Ultra, 1994 Trek Multitrack 750, 1995 Trek Singletrack 930

Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1524 Post(s)
Liked 1,513 Times in 906 Posts
Originally Posted by Shimagnolo
I use a neodymium stuck to the end of the left pedal spindle for my cadence sensor.
Twice, I've been riding along and suddenly heard a rattling in the crank region.
I stopped to find a long piece of steel wire stuck to the magnet.
Hah! It'll be real interesting when it's a wrench.
Korina is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.