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What have you found on the ground while riding?

Old 07-10-19, 07:08 PM
  #1051  
illdrag0n
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Originally Posted by Skipjacks
Sounds like drug dealer drop money

Drug dealers don't like to be holding either money or product, so if they get stopped by the cops they can't be physically tied to anything.

Even on a transfer of cash to the higher level dealer some don't like to hand off the money since if someone is watching it implicates both people. So some dealers will dead drop money where someone else will come pick it up later. Then if that person gets caught with it they can plausibly say "I just found a bundle of cash. I have no idea where it came from....I was going to take it to the local police station but you stopped me."

I used to be an addictions counselor in a prison. Worked with a lot of dealers. Interesting people. Some are REALLY smart and extremely creative, to the point where police who were actively looking for drugs/cash won't find it if they were standing on it. Some are dumber than a bag of lopsided rocks and will dead drop money on a well traveled bike path where it gets easily found.

Either that or posting here that you 'found it' is just part of your cover story....
Yeah maybe. Not sure what it's like where you're from, but down under tradies have a habit of taking "cash in hand" jobs to avoid income tax/gst.

Our older eastern European and south east Asian residents also have a distrust for banking institutions and tend to have money hidden under the mattress (we have a pretty good aged pension).

Also could be ice dealers. A bit of that around of late. Where i found it though was in a gutter in a residential street, just in someones curbside gutter.
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Old 07-10-19, 07:12 PM
  #1052  
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Originally Posted by CliffordK
Good thing to drop it off at the police station is that it is less likely that the drug dealers will claim the goods. Will they even think to ask?

I've found small amounts of cash, but the few larger finds, I never have gotten to keep it.

I found a wallet full of cash next to a parked car in Parma, Italy. There were kids in the car, so we asked them about it, and they ran off with the packet to find their parents. When they came back, they said it was theirs. My friend didn't believe them, but it wasn't really our money either.

A year or so ago, I was riding when I saw someone hunting for something on the other side of the 4 lane road. She yelled about an envelope. I was thinking manila. Anyway, 1/4 mile away up the hill, I found a white sealed envelope that looked right, so I took it back to her. She was happy to see it. It had > $100 in it, she offered me some, but I was happy to get it back to her without reward.

Anyway, that $3200 sounds like quite a haul.

If only I had been able to keep that Felt CF bicycle that I "found", but alas, I also found the owner.
Yeah i took the police approach because if i started asking around (there was 0 people on the street at 6.30am) it was too easy for anyone to say yeah that's mine.

At least to collect from the cops they need to provide approximate dollar amount and location.

I'd hate for a legitimate owner to have been short $3200. I think it's akin to stealing if you don't do what you need to do in order to return money that wasn't legitimately yours in the first place. I don't need that bad juju on my life.

All worked out well for me in the end though, it ended up funding my new Giant Defy and then some.
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Old 07-10-19, 07:16 PM
  #1053  
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Last edited by illdrag0n; 07-10-19 at 07:17 PM. Reason: vsv
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Old 07-10-19, 07:24 PM
  #1054  
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Originally Posted by illdrag0n
Too bad buddy, you had 60 days to claim it lol


Ah well. It sounds like you did everything demanded by prudence, responsibility and good citizenship. Enjoy your winnings. That's quite the wad.
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Old 07-17-19, 10:37 AM
  #1055  
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Golf balls. A hot pink one and a bright yellow one. My ride starts on a loop around a golf course.
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Old 07-18-19, 02:47 PM
  #1056  
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A month or so ago I found an older IPhone and Otterbox case. First I saw one part of the case....then the phone. Phone was working and undamaged thanks to the otterbox. It likely fell from a car as the person who owned it was an old man and based on my interaction, it was not dropped from a bike. It was unlocked too. If I were not a nice person, I could have accessed all sorts of stuff. When I spoke to owner, I told him he should use the lock feature.
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Old 07-18-19, 03:30 PM
  #1057  
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A mouse. Alive, and scooting away from the curb, under traffic waiting at the stoplight.

Tomorrow perhaps: a squished mouse
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Old 07-18-19, 04:00 PM
  #1058  
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This very morning. Luckily, right near the end of the ride so I didn't have to tote that thing in the jersey for two hours.

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Old 07-18-19, 04:14 PM
  #1059  
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Lego pieces.

And a 10mm socket T-wrench on the very day I really could've used one.
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Old 07-19-19, 06:43 AM
  #1060  
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I have found a guinea pig the last 3 times I rode.

I'm sure it's the same one as it's in the same place every time. Obviously it's a runaway pet. But every day it's sitting there in the same place and runs into the bushes as soon as I approach.

That's a new one on me.
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Old 07-19-19, 11:44 AM
  #1061  
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Funny... I was sure that story was going to end with "every day it's sitting there in the same place because it's squashed"
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Old 07-21-19, 05:45 AM
  #1062  
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0n my commute I found all kinds of tools and even cash money! One day I found a six lb bar of copper.
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Old 07-21-19, 11:25 AM
  #1063  
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Originally Posted by BorderRider
I didn't actually smell it. The perfume was still powerful and not my favourite. It hit me !
Do you by chance live or commute past strip clubs? Ewwwwwwww
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Old 07-21-19, 04:24 PM
  #1064  
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Man, I've found so much stuff I keep my eyes peeled now. In fact, about 2 days ago, while riding out in the country around here, I spotted a smart-phone hidden in the grass just off the pavement. I knew that had to have slid off a car roof or something, (which turned out to be the case). I turned around and grabbed it, the screen came right on, and when I stopped at the store where I top off my bottles, I started looking through recent calls to find someone to ring up. Long story short, that evening the girl's father came to get it, and even gave me a $20 gift card from the Dollar Store right up the road, LOL!!
I've found a couple single Allen wrenches, of the common bike size, so i assume they were lost by cyclists. I've found numerous other tools, (adjustable wrenches, screwdrivers, rolls of duct tape, etc), good work gloves, nice wool beanie cap (best one I own now). I once found a nice Columbia rain jacket, with a few bucks in the pocket, and business card for a hair salon on the other side of the county ( I called, but no joy). It was too small for me, so I gave it to my niece.
I also found a cool OD green Frog Toggs rain jacket, which I came back to at the end of the ride, and carried home (it's my car jacket now).
My mom needed a way to organize her snakes-nest of extension cords for her leaf blower and weed-eater, and all of a sudden, I spot one of those things that hold wrapped-up extension cords !!! The timing on that was downright weird !
I've found people's car keys, then posted them on Craigslist lost & found, but no luck there. Same with a kids baseball glove I found that had his name on it, I posted it, but no luck there,either.
Heck, I'm sure I'm still forgetting several things.

(edit: yep remembered another one! I once found a little nylon/velcro pouch that I believe attaches to the shoelaces of joggers, to carry a little cash and car/house key, and it did have several bucks in it.)
Years ago, my home-made bike rack in the garage needed some padding where there bike's top-tube rested across two 2x4's, and I happened to find about a 4-5 ft piece of foam pipe insulation. It may have fallen from a construction/plumbing truck, but it looked to be exactly what i needed. I folded it up across the mtn bike handlebar, and rode home with it, and it worked perfectly !

Last edited by Brocephus; 07-21-19 at 07:25 PM.
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Old 07-22-19, 09:49 AM
  #1065  
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saw 2 large adjustable crescent wrenches Friday (several miles apart). neither was in nice enough condition to turn around & pick up
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Old 07-22-19, 11:33 AM
  #1066  
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I feel like the pickings are slim here because there’s a lot of homeless getting to it first. Cf my story above about the purse.

Same goes for the cherry and orange trees
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Old 07-22-19, 01:42 PM
  #1067  
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Today:
- Nicely cut rectangle of sod, roughly 2' x 10' (I assume it fell off a landscaping truck).
- Christmas stocking.
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Old 07-22-19, 02:25 PM
  #1068  
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Originally Posted by Brocephus
Man, I've found so much stuff I keep my eyes peeled now. In fact, about 2 days ago, while riding out in the country around here, I spotted a smart-phone hidden in the grass just off the pavement. I knew that had to have slid off a car roof or something, (which turned out to be the case). I turned around and grabbed it, the screen came right on, and when I stopped at the store where I top off my bottles, I started looking through recent calls to find someone to ring up. Long story short, that evening the girl's father came to get it, and even gave me a $20 gift card from the Dollar Store right up the road, LOL!!
I've found a couple single Allen wrenches, of the common bike size, so i assume they were lost by cyclists. I've found numerous other tools, (adjustable wrenches, screwdrivers, rolls of duct tape, etc), good work gloves, nice wool beanie cap (best one I own now). I once found a nice Columbia rain jacket, with a few bucks in the pocket, and business card for a hair salon on the other side of the county ( I called, but no joy). It was too small for me, so I gave it to my niece.
I also found a cool OD green Frog Toggs rain jacket, which I came back to at the end of the ride, and carried home (it's my car jacket now).
My mom needed a way to organize her snakes-nest of extension cords for her leaf blower and weed-eater, and all of a sudden, I spot one of those things that hold wrapped-up extension cords !!! The timing on that was downright weird !
I've found people's car keys, then posted them on Craigslist lost & found, but no luck there. Same with a kids baseball glove I found that had his name on it, I posted it, but no luck there,either.
Heck, I'm sure I'm still forgetting several things.

(edit: yep remembered another one! I once found a little nylon/velcro pouch that I believe attaches to the shoelaces of joggers, to carry a little cash and car/house key, and it did have several bucks in it.)
Years ago, my home-made bike rack in the garage needed some padding where there bike's top-tube rested across two 2x4's, and I happened to find about a 4-5 ft piece of foam pipe insulation. It may have fallen from a construction/plumbing truck, but it looked to be exactly what i needed. I folded it up across the mtn bike handlebar, and rode home with it, and it worked perfectly !
Why don't you decide you need 3 or 4 gold bars....and I'll ride in front of you that day.
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Old 07-22-19, 02:39 PM
  #1069  
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You guys are lucky. I found poop on the trail. Smallish grazer poop. I wonder if the yak men got a new yak?
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Old 07-22-19, 03:46 PM
  #1070  
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I found poop today. The past month, road crews have been working on resurfacing the residential neighborhood I ride through before I get to the arterials. The road that will be paved today (I might get to ride on it tonight) had half a dog turd on it. I briefly wondered if the dog's owner left or planted it there on purpose to see if any of it was evident through the new layer of asphalt
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Old 07-22-19, 11:10 PM
  #1071  
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Oh there's always something on the trail; otter, raccoon, dog, just usually on the edges not right down the middle for a surprisingly long stretch.
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Old 07-23-19, 10:49 AM
  #1072  
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Originally Posted by RubeRad
I found poop today... I briefly wondered if the dog's owner left or planted it there on purpose to see if any of it was evident through the new layer of asphalt
Owner was probably walking half a block ahead with his phone out and head down when the dog did his duty.

True story: we have a dog who does not like anyone to watch him poop. We take him camping to RV parks and he won't go during a walk, he needs to be off leash and my back turned. And although that's a place I definitely need to pick up after him, sometimes I just can't find it.
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Old 07-24-19, 09:43 PM
  #1073  
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I found some birth control / STD prevention devices today. I make a reasonable living and can afford my own so I left them for the next guy who might be a little less fortunate.
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Old 07-25-19, 12:15 PM
  #1074  
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Originally Posted by RoadKill
I found some birth control / STD prevention devices today. I make a reasonable living and can afford my own so I left them for the next guy who might be a little less fortunate.
I wanted to say something funny about recycling, but I've got nuthin'.
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Old 07-26-19, 11:41 AM
  #1075  
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I found half a roll of duct tape this morning, and found it a half block from work. Who doesn't need more duct tape?
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