madcow_number_6

I dunno about the rest of my fellow commuters, but when I see something neat/useful I stop and pick it up. Bungees, pocket knife, someone else's framepump, heck I've been known to take a second to pick up a quarter while riding through the shopping center. The only problem with this is when I get all happy and excited and show off my new find to my fiance. She gets all uppity like she's to good to be seen with someone who picks up things off the side of the road.
Well today I cared not! HAHA! today I outdid my best find and rode the last 4 miles home with a pair (yes 2) of Crutches. Good ones from the hospital at that. Had them bungee-ed (found those a week ago) to either side of the top tube. She just rolled her eyes and wondered aloud why she bothers with me sometimes. Love you hon, thanks for putting up with my goofy ways.

So how bout it? Any body else find a keeper or two en-route?

Nermal

I passed up a 2" industrial grade check valve. Fairly expensive, but what would I do with it? Heavy, too. Had I a use for it, it would have been mine. Otherwise, lots of unmarketable broken glass.

devianb

I find interesting things like marbles, toys, clothing, and various metal bits, but nothing useful enough to pick up and bring home.

Cyclaholic

You could have e-bayed that puppy!


Yeah, I pick stuff up off the side of the road but I try to go for quality over quantity. I love big-rubbish nights, I hook up my biggest trailer and go looking for treasure. Invariably I always find a bike or two and a few kitchen appliances that end up sold at the local trash'n'treasure market. I'm amazed at what people throw out sometimes.

jimisnowhere

Most everything I own was once "another man's trash".

Juha

Nice crutches!

Me, I dropped my new Fenix light outside the office when trying to haul my panniers inside this morning. Took me about 5 minutes to realise I must've dropped it, went back and there it was. Glad you weren't around!

--J

mike

I might pick up stuff I can use; especially bike parts. Sometimes, if I find a really sweet bike being tossed, I will lock it up to a post and pick it up later.

I would avoid picking up stuff that I couldn't use right away though. One man's trash can become... another man's trash.

For example, bringing home a pair of crutches. What are you going to do with those? I suppose you never know when you are going to break your leg and have to set it yourself. Then, of course, you would need a pair of good crutches. "See, Honey, I told you these would come in handy some day! Could you please pass me the duct tape and those old spatulas and didn't we have an old bullet around here somewhere? I need someething to bite when I set this damned bone in place..."

icedmocha 

I have not found much worth picking up. I stopped a few weeks ago because I saw a vintage lantern but it was only half there. I would say that I saw probably 4 or 5 perfectly good bikes being tossed last year, but what would I do with them? I have little space.

thdave

I picked up a steak knife once--just because I didn't want someone else to run it over. Also found a beanie baby that I gave to my dog. I usually leave stuff, though.

I saw a Nike golf ball while crossing a bridge, but I don't like stopping on that road. Speed limit is 45 mph. That ball stayed there for months!

genec

Tools and money... I stop for those.

jgedwa

Ridden home with a whole bike slung over my shoulder a couple of times.

And chained up a couple for a later pick up also.

jim

mjw16

Sure, I stop to check every road-side orphan out. The most recent was a shiny, chrome, wallet-sized box. I was excited to stop, run down the hill and pick up what turned out to be a woman's compact-darn! I'm not ashamed to pick up: money, tools, bike accessories, bandanas (which my g.f. wears, I don't) and anything else of value. I feel that I'm saving money, time, and recycling when I find things. I recently picked up a wheelchair in someone's trash, cleaned it up, and sold it for $60 on Craigslist. $60 for about 15 minutes worth of work, not bad.

DataJunkie

I would stop for money.
Never happens.

I have enough junk in my own house. No need to add to it. Heck, I am going through and donating \ giving away excess items I have. My home is way too cluttered.

Stax

I found one of these on the side of the road last week:

mjw16

As for found money, my grand total so far is roughly $64. I found a folded up 20 during a T storm, a 10 in my old parking lot, and a ziploc with about $34 in it last summer (somehow I seem to remember another fiver sometime/somewhere)-nothing recently. It's funny how quickly one recognizes money, even at 20 mph. I'll lock up the rear wheel, turn, scoop it up as fast as possible, and check the denomination later.

ollo_ollo

Tools, folding money, Swiss Army knife, and once a heavy duty master padlock complete with its key inserted & a spare key on the ring. It all evens out though, as I have lost several spare tubes from under my saddle and once lost a new frame pump 2 days after purchase.

Leiniesred

At night, I find my headlight is excellent at locating reflectors and blinkies from bikes. Sometimes, there is a bike attached to the reflector.

I've found 2 bikes. Pulled them out of the river. 1 is still in the woods--rusting--I think.

I've found about $1 in change. I don't have very many stops/intersections on my MUP ride.

mike

Hey, I think that's mine. Can I have it back?

Stax

Losers weepers.

dynaryder

I've found two blinkys,a Blackburn mini pump,a 1/4" bit T handle,and about a gross of pedal reflectors. Gave the blinkys and pump out to folks that needed them.

nvr

I've found and brought home a filet knife, nice ss spatula that I now use for flipping burgers on the grill, makita flashlight, hammer, and my most recent find...some piece of crap bike all beat and rusted to hell with a nice blackburn aluminum rack. I came back for the bike, took off the rack, painted it black, and it's on my bike now.

Wino Ryder

[QUOTE=Cyclaholic;
I love big-rubbish nights, I hook up my biggest trailer and go looking for treasure. I'm amazed at what people throw out sometimes.[/QUOTE]



Yeah, I'm with 'Cyclaholic' on this one. Sometimes I'll take a detour from my usual route just to ride through crappy neighborhoods that border industrial parks. If I see something I like, I'll go home and hook up my trailer and return. I found a good sheet of 3/4" exterior plywood that way. It was'nt the entire 4' x 8' sheet, but it was most of it, and it was fairly new.

~ note: I had a bit of a time getting that secured onto my trailer.

ItsJustMe

I mostly get tools. I ride over 4 miles of gravel, and if a contractor has any tools loose in his truck, the road often will eject them from the bed. I've gotten a few wrenches, 3 or 4 pair of pliers, a 1/2" drive breaker bar, a 50 foot fiberglass measuring tape, a couple of hats (one baseball and one stocking cap; both looked very clean and new, but I washed them first).

richardmasoner

I have a collection of license plates that are mostly roadside finds. For some reason the cleanup crews always leave the front plates laying around at accident sites.

My best find: Topeak Alien multitool. Found up by Ward, Colorado.

buelito

most bizarre thing I picked up was a red reflector off a rear blinkey-- mine was cracked, so I figured I could use this one. When I got to work, I talked to a buddy of mine who had ridden in ahead of me...turns out he had taken a fall, and the cover had come off of his blinky... I pulled the one I found and said, "...you mean this one? I found it on the end of the wooden bridge..." He smiled and said that was where he fell... his blinky is back to being intact


train safe-