I'm sure that my experience isn't unique. I find useful hand tools often by the side of the road. Sometimes I stop to pick them up. Recent examples:

Craftsman 1/4 inch ratchet handle
17mm open/boxed chrome/vanadium wrench
10mm/11mm open/open ended wrench
1/2 inch Craftsman 1/4-inch drive socket
Hinged pruning shears
3-inch wide stainless putty knives (2)
Magnetic torpedo level intact


What have you found?

mostly used prophos and beer cans.

Although I have found some pretty sweet sunglasses on a couple of occasions.

Lots of sockets, a few combination wrenches, a razor knife. I found a cell phone recently, put a found ad on Craigslist but did not locate the owner. It was pretty messed up.

I found a quick release on the ground once, and wondered how someone rode off without it.....

I found some shorty 1/2 and 9/16 wrenches that came in handy on that particular ride. I had to use the 9/16 to adjust my seat tilt on that ride.
A 10mm box end wrench along with various pin tools and chain hooks and a cheap crescent wrench. Almost all of these have gone into the bike tool kit I carry.

lots of sockets-one or two at a time
crescent wrench(still keep it in my saddle bag)
Older model of one of these screwdriver dealies(minus the bits, but found others to work)
tire iron(sat along side of road for two weeks, gave to coworker)
screwdriver

I came across one when I was in college. Called "Dad", which freaked him out at first.

A green-handled S-K No.2 Philips chrome-vanadium screwdriver.

I've found wrenches, screwdrivers and 2 sets of sunglasses- the last ones are $150 Oakley Bottlecaps.

My best roadside find was a Crafstman 3/8" flex handle (non-ratchet socket wrench). Bent/broke it working on car stuff, took it to Sears and got a new one for free. Gotta love that Craftsman warrantee.

SP
Bend, OR

Years ago I found a cut off jean jacket that was patched... won't say what club.
Found it in the ditch.. in the top pocket was a big baggie....

Oh yea.. tools! A few here and there.

My fourn Craftsman 1/4-Inch ratchet handle had a sloppy ball that locks in the socket. Brought it to Sears and exchanged for a re-conditioned [new] one, no questions asked. Amen on the Craftsman warrantee.

I've never found anything, even when I realized my seat bag was open and my 10mm combo box/ratchet wrench had fallen out. Spent 15 minutes looking for it, never found.

Not on a bike ride, but one time I was standing at an intersection in downtown St. Louis waiting to cross when I heard something sliding down the street. It sounded like a flattened soda can sounds when you kick it. I looked down and a cell phone slid right up to my feet. It had come off a car pulling out of the parking garage across the street. It was still on and everything.

I took it back to my office and perused its phonebook. Ironically, there was a number listed as home. I called it and left a message explaining that I had the phone. The guy came to my office the next day and picked it up. I had to laugh because I have HOME in my phone as well.

Along with miscellaneous tools, I've found a couple unusual things while riding my bike including a loaded shotgun shell and a camouflage cover for an army helmet.

High dollar pair of scissors, new swiss army knife, new led light, cell phone with sun glasses, rolls and rolls of electrical tape.

Back in the 80's, as a poor student living in Boulder I would always watch for discarded flat sew-ups beside the road that affluent riders would leave behind after changing a flat. I found quite a few tubulars with plenty of life left in them after a patch. As a poor, beginning racer it was always like finding gold discarded beside the road.

I round a really large combination ratcheting box end wrench/pry bar thing and a sparkplug socket T-wrench both on separate occasions and have never found a use for either. Both are too large for anything I've ever had.

Bunch of odds and ends over the years, but the best two finds a full 1/2" Blackhawk Rachet set in a metal case, and a high Fluke multimeter. Still have both.

Aaron

Found a nice set of Craftsman channel lock pliers while commuting home from work. I ground the tips down an use them on lock rings and Sturmey ball rings.

that is a brilliant Mod I must make to my channel locks immediately.

In my younger days (puberty, well before the internet), I used to scour the roadside for porno mags. Even found an unopened six pack of beer in the same bag, once. Ended up with a nice little stash, which my mother threw out when I went to boot camp at the age of 18.

Lately, all I've found was a nice 18" pistol grip wood clamp.

I've noticed these along side the road before, more so in the 70's and 80's. I always wondered why someone would throw away a perfectly good magazine, but now that I think about it I think I know the answer My best roadside find was a big pneumatic framing nailer in the middle of an intersection that must have fallen off a truck. I kept it awhile and finally gave it away, and now that I'm a homeowner with renovations and a deck to build, I'm kicking myself for it.

I found a small broken washer. It ended up 1/2 cm deep into my wheel .

I found an Airstream trailer once

I used to collect new red shop rags, found them so regularly that I would only pick them up if they were new.

I found a nice set of channel-locks, but most tools that I stop for now-days are pretty ground down by traffic.

Speaking of finding wierd things in tires, my neighbor had a flat, just down the street, and I helped him sort it out. There was an entire horseshoe imbedded in his tire.