A cyclist I know was out for a walk in his village when he stopped on a bridge to look at the local river. He looked down and spotted a bike in the water, close to one river bank. He managed to get down to the waterside and drag the bike out. It turned out to be a Specialized Roubaix in mint condition, apart from a punctured tyre and a buckled wheel.

He surmised that the bike had been stolen and the thief had ridden into a pothole or hit something which caused the puncture and damaged the wheel and had decided to dump the bike rather than risk walking with it.

So, my pal took the bike to his local police station and reported the circumstances in which he had found it. The officer gave him a reference number and said that if the owner hadn't claimed it in 30 days, he could come back and collect it.

30 days passed and he went back to the police station. The bike was unclaimed and was handed over to him!

So, he got a bike worth over £2,000 ($3,000) for the price of a new wheel!

It happens to be my size so he is going to swap bikes with me on a future ride together so I can see what I think of it. (It looks fantastic and he says it is a dream to ride.)