This morning: A chain, apparently broken at the master link. I left it there.

Nice! I always say my favorite beer is free.

Aside from being a beer snob, you just leave litter on the trail? That Bud could be trading stock when you meet ryan on the road.

Well I certainly don't spend my rides stopping for litter, I'd never get anywhere! I'm ok with being a beer snob. If it tastes bad, I'm not gonna drink it. To be fair, I pretty much don't like any lagers, even well-crafted ones. Like Pilsner Urquell is supposed to be the definitive super-lager, I can't stand it. Gimme a good ale any day. Even a mediocre one; I'll drink a Newkie any day.

I'm probably a bike snob too. If I was at somebody's house and they offered to go on a bike ride, but all they had for me to rice was a full-suspension Magna with squealing brakes and misaligned derailleurs, I'd just rather not ride.

Well, I'll admit I was out on a recreational ride, not commuting... but how often do you see a mink?



This was in central NJ.

probably a fake. did you check? ALL fur is fake now-a-days AFAIK...

Ha! Yeah, I sent the photo to my wife. She replied, what makes you think it's not a black squirrel? (it's the same size). By this time, I'll admit: I wasn't even sure any more! I'm not much of a naturalist, though she is. But she also sent the photo to a friend of hers who's a really good naturalist, who confirmed my hunch right away. Not much later, my wife and I got in the car and went and got it.

Why? you may ask. I'm kinda wondering that myself... could make a nice hat, but I suspect it'll be taxidermied and displayed in her classroom.

one doesn't often see it anymore, but yes, pelts can be quite attractive when worn on the head.

Herakles would agree!

Found an injured saw-whet owl on my commute home in Chehalis, WA back in the 90's, in winter. Put him in my coat to get him home, put him in a box at home, called the wildlife rescue folks and they came and got him.

I have to admit, when I saw this in the other thread, my first thought was, "Coming to Etsy, RHM's Mink Brooks Saddle"!

I'll admit I was tempted! but giving it to my wife was the right move. How many men can make the wife happy by giving her road kill? The unfortunate varmint is now in the hands of taxidermist.

Money, tools, car parts, every animal I can think of. Hundreds of water bottles at Hotter'n Hell. Saw a carbon fiber bottle cage rattle off a full carbon bike on the chipseal there as well.

One of the funnier ones was a big, purple d!ldo spotted while on tour just laying on the side of the road on a long 8% climb. Fun trying to think of how it ended up there

The most recent one was a iPhone 6s. Brand new, nice, expensive one. Only thing that saved it was he had it in an Otter Box that exploded but saved the phone after impact.

The phone was powered up, but locked. Thanks to the notifications scrolling by on the front screen, there was one from whom we intuited to be his girlfriend. So my girlfriend looked her up on FB and messaged her with our phone number. He called, we met and returned the phone. It was a young redneck kid, maybe 20.

What I found amusing was that he just walked up and took the phone from me and started saying, "It didn't even break, I'm so glad its ok," and started walking back to his truck. No thank you, nothing. So I started walking to his truck and he was showing it to his girlfriend and she leaned over passed him and said, "thank you." Which prompted him to turn around and say, "oh yeah, thank you" sort of in passing then got into his truck and left.

I just kinda shook my head and walked away thinking, "kids today..."

That must have been an interesting ride home.

This item was in the local news last summer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J3lPssz1Ms

Wow! Didn't know they had such a wide range.

music cd's, a G-shock watch, an mp3 player, hand tools, a few dollars cash, a 6-pack of Budweiser (aluminum cans) with scratches and dents

To date, at least a dozen lighters, $100 bill, $10 bill, and a knife. At least thats what stands out in my memory.

Bike lights, both front and rear and a wallet. I was able to find the guy's contact and called his wife. A few minutes later the guy came flying back up the road in a taxi (it had apparently just happened) and let me keep all the cash he had. Kinda bizarre though because I can't think of any logical reason to lose your wallet out the window as you're driving...

So you found two d!ldos?

Beats my record. I found one, ordinary flesh color. Big one. Under a bridge where I'd stopped to photograph some graffiti and tags. Folding knife nearby. No blood or signs of carnage. Wasn't sure I wanted to know how that stuff got there.

Saw a nice box wrench the other day but decided against stopping to retrieve it on the shoulder of a narrow bridge during rush hour.

Mostly I see dead critters.


Unspecialized Armadillo vs Michelin Protek Cross Max. Michelins, FTW.
Not the worst joke I've made, but close.


Mule deer carcass feeding turkey vultures.

I saw a nice Mac Tools 10 MM wrench on the road at a stop light. Unfortunately, it landed on a strip of tar sealant, and had been pressed into it. I couldn't pry it up before the light changes. I also found a Snap-on #1 Philips screwdriver. It's the best screwdriver I've got - it grips when nothing else will.

Nice, there are a lot of good tools that fall off of work trucks. I found a 10mm combo wrench the other day actually, nothing special but I grabbed it up. I also remember like you said, a wrench that was embedded in the asphalt, I watched it sink lower and lower every day I passed it. I don't remember what finally happened, probably a resurfacing covered it up forever.

Right now over on the MTBR Norcal forum there's a thread about finding mushrooms.

Official 2015 mushroom thread- Mtbr.com

I'd have looked around to see if the community college film school kids or Candid Camera was getting me on video...

Happened to someone I know, put their wallet on the dash, it slid and shot out the window in a sharp turn.

There's a spot along my commute, at the start of a gated-off fire road into park land, that is sort of a bootleg parking lot for dog walkers, MTB poachers, midnight dumping and B&E. It's the spot where I'd be most likely to find something, but it also seems like anything I found there would be morally tainted.

A goldmine in other words