What have you found on the road side recently

[ren531]

My tool box is a lot fuller due to all the road side finds I have had over the years the most popular one is 10mm spanners also screwdrivers adjustable water pump pliers ,electric tester , hundred yards of rope ,sockets and so on my last find was a rather nice Snap on ratchet but that was some time ago the finds don't seem as regular as they once were ,have mechanics got more tidy and leaving less tools under the bonnet of cars they work on ? ,I never fail to stop and investigate something interesting but I don't find stuff like I once did ,you get lots of things like L plates and P plates witch I suppose get thrown out of car windows ,so what is the best thing you have ever found ,not money ,money is boring compered to the discovery of a surprising find .

 

[Moodyman]

£10, £5, £5, long nose pliers, mole grips, 10mm spanner, flexipipe for sink/bath, bungee cords x several, packet of screws, regular pliers, several spanners, and packet of metal washers.The day I found the £10 I was battling into a fierce headwind on the way home from work. It seemed a just reward for the hard work.

It certainly pays to watch where you're going.

Edit: and an almost new metal wire brush which I use regularly.

 

[Moodyman]

There are lots of things on the roadside which folk would think of as junk, but if you know your DIY or like working with your hands you can spot their value.

 

[Slick]

I've found a few bottles of funny looking coke.

Lost a few lights including a camera light.

 

[bianchi1]

Several fresh cow skins, complete with a thin layer of flesh still attached to the underside. Not at all useful, but interesting

 

[Moodyman]

I was once walking with a friend and reached down to the kerb to pick up a piece of plastic.

He looked at me as if I was weird. I explained it was a Rixen and Kaul lower pannier hook.

"Ehh?" He said.

I said you don't need to know what it is, but it's worth a fiver if bought from a bike shop.

 

[sheddy]

Not the roadside but out walking - one walking pole buried in the mud.
Into the next field, the matching pole ! - again well buried.
Back home, washed dried and lubed ready for action.

 

[classic33]

Most suprising was a foot. I'd run over it, then went back to check what I'd hit.

Finds are getting fewer though, with two pairs of pliers being found just over two weeks ago

 

[ColinJ]

A jacket...

I did the Good Samaritan thing when I rode Pain in the Pennines 3 years ago. I came hurtling down a steep hill at about 50 mph and saw a lump in the road ahead. I thought that it was a pile of manure and swerved round it but as I did so I saw that it was a jacket in a little stuff-sack. I continued down the hill but then my conscience got the better of me so I turned round, climbed back up the hill and picked up the jacket. I carried it round to the first feed station and handed it in.

When I enquired about the jacket at the finish I was told that a very happy woman had claimed it. She'd bought it the day before the event for about £70 (I think?) and had been really upset when she discovered that it had fallen out of her back pocket somewhere on the ride.

On separate offroad rides...

A £10 note all but buried in thick dust and gravel. A flash of sunlight reflecting off the hologram caught my eye. It paid for beer and a takeaway when I got home!

A new-looking, freshly laundered Goretex skullcap which just happened to be my size! (Worth about £18 and very good for cold, wet rides.)

A porn magazine ...

A few years ago, a very unfit me was on a cycling holiday on the Costa Blanca. I'd climbed to Guadalest and was slowly ascending the road from Guadalest to the village of Confrides when I came across a hardcore porn mag lying open in the middle of the road. (Hmm, there's a very unfortunate pun there... ) Er, I discovered said mag! I had more important things on my mind so I ignored it and continued my extended meditation on the inadvisability of overweight, unfit cyclists tackling long trips over Spanish mountains...

A few minutes later I heard voices behind me and turned to see a group of younger cyclists rapidly gaining on me. Soon they passed and I noticed that they were speaking German. One lad was riding no-hands (twice as fast as me ) holding that porn mag and pointing out various fascinating photographs to his mates. I don't speak much German but it was fairly obvious what they were saying - "Ho, ho, ho, ach ja, sie ist SEHR...!" They disappeared into the distance and I continued my lonely toil.

Eventually I spotted the Germans sitting at a table outside a cafe in Confrides, and still having an animated conversation about the porno mag which they were openly passing around amongst themselves.

I spotted a pair of corded earphones at the side of the road last week. I left them there in case anybody came back to look for them.

 

[Sharky]

Have found loads of coins snd occasionally bank notes. But once riding up a steep hill, spotted a discarded wallet and paper things around it. Stopped and discovered it included a driving licence and a train season ticket. When I got home, found their phone number in the book and gave them a ring. They came round to collect it and gave the kids fiver to buy some sweets.

It turned out that the lad had been playing football and had left his stuff in the changing rooms. The thieves raided the changing rooms, took the money and discarded everything else.

 

[snorri]

I said you don't need to know what it is, but it's worth a fiver if bought from a bike shop.

True, but I've had a rear mud flap from a Land Rover in excellent condition in my garage for ages and can't find a L/R owher who needs a rear mud flap.
I'm a little disappointed re the battery life in the excellent PELI head lamp I found on the verge a few months ago. They cost £50 to buy new, although Lidl sell similar for less than a tenner.
A good find whilst beachcombing last year was a composting bin lid, followed by a composting bin, which amazingly fitted the lid, in a roadside ditch whilst cycling. It was a little awkward to cycle home one handed with a composting bin but it's now doing the job in my garden.
Things that can be exchanged for hard cash are best, I'm looking forward to this 20p refundable deposit scheme on plastic bottles and cans scheme being discussed just now in parly. Not sure if I should start stockpiling for when the scheme comes in. The bar code must be undamaged which limits the quantity that can be picked up on each sortie.

 

[classic33]

True, but I've had a rear mud flap from a Land Rover in excellent condition in my garage for ages and can't find a L/R owher who needs a rear mud flap.
I'm a little disappointed re the battery life in the excellent PELI head lamp I found on the verge a few months ago. They cost £50 to buy new, although Lidl sell similar for less than a tenner.
A good find whilst beachcombing last year was a composting bin lid, followed by a composting bin, which amazingly fitted the lid, in a roadside ditch whilst cycling. It was a little awkward to cycle home one handed with a composting bin but it's now doing the job in my garden.
Things that can be exchanged for hard cash are best, I'm looking forward to this 20p refundable deposit scheme on plastic bottles and cans scheme being discussed just now in parly. Not sure if I should start stockpiling for when the scheme comes in. The bar code must be undamaged which limits the quantity that can be picked up on each sortie.

Bin in one hand over the shoulder, other on the handlebars.

Scan the same bottle twice. The barcode only identifies the product, not each bottle.

 

[Nebulous]

I can't recall finding a single useful thing. I once found a rather nice waterproof jacket, but identified the owner and handed it back at the coffee stop.

Experiences with wildlife now - I've had dozens of those, maybe because I cycle in less built-up areas than some of you. Most recent was a hare, which ran alongside me for over 100 metres. It was massive, and faster than I was.

 

[Mo1959]

A brand new saw still in it's cardboard sleeve. Wasn't as big as some, so managed to slide it down the back of my jacket and took it home. Lol.

 

[mikeymustard]

Several fresh cow skins, complete with a thin layer of flesh still attached to the underside. Not at all useful, but interesting

Had a cow's leg bounce out of the old skinyard lorry and onto my head - nearly knocked me clean off! One for the helmet lobby there