What's your best "find" while riding?
 

I've seen enough nuts, bolts and bungee cords to start a hardware store. And I saw a hammer the other day.

It got me wondering, what other cool things have people found on a ride?

Jeff

Can't say I've found much of any value while riding. Probably the most interesting find was 20+ years ago: one beautiful day in mid June I was riding with two buddies on the beach on the firm sand along the waterline, when something cought my eye. At first I thought it was just an orange peel washed ashore, but something about it seemed unusual, so I stopped and went back. It turned out to be a roughly matchbox sized piece of amber. It is not unusual to find amber here, but it is usually tiny nuggets, rarely exceeding the size of a pea, and it's usually found in late summer and autumn, when the storms wash it ashore.

I frequently come across hand tools when I'm riding, and usually stop to pick them up. Although I have all the usual tools at my workbench, some of the tools that I've found are my "go to" tools for certain jobs.

A few years ago I found a set of cleat covers for some cleats that I don't use. It just so happened that a couple of days later, here on the BF forums, someone posted that they needed a set of the same format (BTW he wasn't the person who'd lost the ones I found). So I sent them to him.

I've told my wife for years that I could start a successful non-profit organization with all the good, usable hubcaps I see along the roads (If I actually stopped to pick them up. Alas I haven't come up with a good way to carry them home on the road bike...nor a place to store them all once I'd have them.). I'd call it "Hubcaps for Humanity" and donate 100% to charity.

Dan

A back pack with a nealy new laptop computer.

Decades ago I found a large, heavy carabiner. It's served as my key chain ever since. Found a spork while touring. Kept it, but it eventually broke. While touring in Montana in 2016 I found a long sleeve pullover with a hood on the side of an empty road. Came in handy during the cool nights. Crossing the country 20 years ago a few of us passed a dead pheasant in the road. It was so fresh that the blood from its nose had not yet dried. A woman with us plucked some feathers for us and we attached them to the rears of our bikes. On the last day of the trip we passed a guy who had attached to his bike every little child's toy he had found along the road while crossing the country. Guess kids like to throw things out of car windows. I know I have found money on several occasions.

There are some rather lengthy threads on this already.

https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting...le-riding.html

One of my larger hauls was a piece of plywood.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...74a03ce112.jpg

I just found a few gas "gift cards" yesterday. Sorry, no details until I decide whether I will hunt for the owner. But, they could potentially have a significant value (or could be worthless and discarded).

I remember this from a long time ago, not because I found money but money found me. I was waiting for a traffic light and suddenly the wind blew a bright yellow 50 guilders bill into my front wheel spokes, where it just sat firmly and flapping in the wind as to draw my attention in case I hadn't see it flying in. I didn't have to grab it quickly as it was stuck, and I didn't even have to reach for it as it was at the closest point in the wheel to me. I was a student back then and I had to work over 5 hours for that amount back then. I just took it out calmly like it was nothing special and put in my wallet like it was just handed to me in a regular transaction, and just as my wallet was back in my pocket the light turned green. The lady next to me looked at me like she wanted to say something and I looked back at her like this was a daily occurance for me and rode off.

$36 at a bus stop. No one around, so I pocketed it with a polite thank you to the universe. Then there was the $20 bill I found on the highway right after I spent too much time patching the tube on the rear wheel of my new disc brake bike and getting the wheel back on.

The best thing I ever found was a small winged My Little Pony figure. It was the mascot on my bike until it overcame my poor velcro mounting and flew away.

I hope the next person to find this posts as well!!!

The most common things are hand tools and electrical tape, with occasional interesting other things. Some that come to mind from this year.

Gerber Flat Iron folding knife
Roll of Copenhagen Long Cut
$20
Streamlight Stinger LED flashlight
Waterproof Pants
Vintage pearl handled pocket knife

I saw an eagle go up in a tree and about 15 seconds later it flew back out with a squirrel hanging out of it's mounth

Not me, but my brother in law found this frame in a back alley pile of scrap metal and old bikes. He asked the home owner if he could have it, and brought it home, along with a Sears three speed and a small kids frame. The road frame turned out to be '73 Raleigh Super Course, which I built into one of my favorite bikes.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...25515ba4ef.jpg
As found.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...22f647fba3.jpg
My first ever bike build.

Seventy three dollars blown across the road in front of me. Thought it was trash, then saw the colors and thought it might be money, 3 twenties, a ten and 3 ones.

Best I have found was a nice cutting torch which was great but unfortunately I don't have a welding setup in the garage so I gave it to a friend.

I've found just a few odd tools: sockets, open ended wrenches, screwdrivers. I would always pick up lead tire weights because I melt them down to make nose weights for my RC vintage sailplanes! Found a few quarters, nickles, dimes and pennies! I sure would like to find a Masi or sump'n! Why... I'd even pick up a Raleigh! lol

My favorite is a very clean Leatherman like multi tool kit with belt case.

It almost makes up for the years of the unwanted broken glass fragments, nails, etc...

I feel darn lucky, if I can just find my way home...... 👑

Assorted tools, mainly, ratchet, sockets, hammer (left it there!).
One time I found a wallet, no ID or anything at all, except two 20's and a 100-dollar bill.

My latest find was a wallet when we rode into the boat launch area at a lake near our home. There was some cash, I didn't count it, but it was somewhere between $40 and $60. There was no ID, but there was a traffic ticket with a guy's telephone number. I called the number, and the guy that answered said he did not loose his wallet. There was a long pause, and he said, "well I maybe did" . He was camped close to the boat launch, and it took him only a few minutes to get there. He got out of his car, and I handed his wallet to him. He started to shake my hand, but said, "oh hell", and gave me a big hug. From the looks of their car, the money was probably pretty important to them. It was a good day:)

My favorite find has always been cash. With a keen eye I’ve found $1’s, $5’s, $10’s, and $20’s.

My most memorable find was $5 bill when I was perhaps 10 years old. Lived in Merrick, NY at time, early fifties. Found the bill in a puddle, middle of winter. Rode immediately to the Merrick railroad depot. At time still a small, simple wooden structure heated by a potbelly stove. Spread the bill out on the stove, flipped it a few times and off I went with my find.. which I'm sure I spent some of at the local bakery on some donuts. :)

My best find was found while riding my mtn.bike. It was a big @ss rock, laying in some tall grass. Why was it my "best find"? Because my eyes found it, after I fell, instead of my helmet--wasn't but maybe 6" from my head!

My best find on a ride was the woman who three years later became my wife.

An American Express Platinum card on an old gravel country road (before gravel bikes were a thing). It was just sitting there, in the middle of this dirt farm road, shining in the noonday sun.
......annnd it belonged to a fellow cycling club rider who had taken that same route the day before. Boy, he was thrilled to see his AmEx card again.

$5 back then would be like $10,000 today. :D