Roadkill! (or..."what have you found while cycling?")

[Danneaux]

Hi All!

For years, I've kept my eyes open while cycling and usually find something as a result. I call it "Roadkill" as opposed to road kill, which is something entirely different. It is rarely something classifiable as Real Treasure™, though I did once find USD$300 in cash on the centerline of the road and immediately gave half to my touring partner who promptly reneged on his promise to use it for the Common Good (and common touring bills, like meals and lodging) -- Grr!

Ofttimes, I let things stay where they are, but once in awhile I'll bring home the small things and drop them in a box. I don't really know what to do with the stuff, but it beats having it lay where cars could run over it. I'm a bit of a magpie, I guess. Sometimes, things like pocket knives and screwdrivers come in handy, even if the finish is a little compromised by weather or impact with the roadway. I once found a lug wrench that actually fit my car.

There's been a lot over the years, but after finding a rubber duck on today's ride, I thought I'd share the rest of my "Roadkill Box" contents with you. At present, there's a bronze Harley-Davidson backrest ornament, a stuffed lizard, the rubber duck, a replica of a poisonous Amazonian frog, a sleigh bell, several trinkets and game pieces and an articulated Curious George toy that has him turning somersaults when you squeeze a couple buttons. Besides that, there's a keychain with a carbon-fiber car silencer in miniature attached, a horseshoe nail (which doubles as a dandy cycling shoe cleat-slot cleaner), and a religious blessing.

Cutlery like tableware is common (forks lead the list), but the more unusual items include a near-new and fully usable potato-masher I found recently. Among the most bizarre? A pair of pink Barbie-doll shoes found 80km apart. What are the odds?

I even find this stuff in the middle of nowhere, as the last photo shows. Over 100 miles from any services in the Nevada desert, I found a children's computer-toy that uh, kinda resembled me (sunburned nose and moustache, anyway).

So, what have you found on your rides? Looking forward to reading or seeing whatcha found!

Best,

Dan. ("Oh, look! It's a...")

[triaesthete]

Hey Dan, that fellow on the right looks nothing like you!

Today I passed a leather belt from someones trousers?

Not so long ago I saw two  Dyson vacuum cleaners stripped down into bits that would fit a normal dustbin?? and distributed along a mile or two of road ??

A pair of glittery boots (think Bowie circa '73) once stood in the woods on the side of a quiet lane for over a week.

Nowt so queer as folk.
Ian

[Danneaux]

Hey Dan, that fellow on the right looks nothing like you!

 

Today I passed a leather belt from someones trousers?

Now really Ian...this makes one think: Who really discards a belt? Most people collect them!

Not so long ago I saw two  Dyson vacuum cleaners...

<nods> Yes, unfortunately, we get the Big appliances here'bouts. Discarded refrigerators and old CRT-type TV sets. People dump them rather than put them in the trash or donate to the electronic recycling places (where they can be dropped off free and gain a tax credit in the bargain!). I...don't bring home such big things. Pink Barbie shoes and poisonous frog-models, yes. Entire refrigerators...no. I have my limits.

A pair of glittery boots (think Bowie circa '73) once stood in the woods on the side of a quiet lane for over a week.

And...then...somebody got'em! That's the really scary thought! Hmm. Now we know where there's a belt to go with them....

Nowt so queer as folk.

S'truth...we need inoculations but I'm not holding my breath they'll be developed anytime soon.

All the best,

Dan.

[JimK]

On my recent push through the not-a-road-anymore, up at the top, there were a couple of old refrigerators discarded, fallen apart. Looked like they'd been used for a bit of target practice. I didn't inspect too closely but they didn't look too utterly ancient. It must still have been a road, driveable, not too many decades ago!

[Danneaux]

Looked like they'd been used for a bit of target practice.

Jim, it seems everything left around here eventually gets used for target practice. Spent shells are my "most found" items. Attached is a photo of a small sport-ute I found in the middle of Central-Eastern Oregon's Christmas Valley. After seeing such things, I'm always left wondering for a few kilometers After. In the truck shown below...It had been launched across a roadside ditch to land where I saw it; the landing must've really hurt for whoever was driving at the time. And why remove the one wheel and tire? And how? No room for a jack. The remaining front one looks pretty good. And, what happened at 4:20 (graffiti on the side)? At least they won't have to wash the windows. Stolen? Perhaps. The police rarely if ever patrol where here.  On the other hand, there's also nowhere to properly dispose of things like dead cars, so the few local residents in such remote places will sometimes get a bit inebriated ("likkered-up") and let fly with the shotgun, all in good fun. I always hope they've run out of ammo by the time I pedal into view.

Ah, the endless mysteries! Fun to think about when touring alone in the Big Open Places.

Best,

Dan.

[ianshearin]

Ah this thread brings back a very poignant memory for me, I was working out in Saudi Arabia up until a few Years ago, before I arrived there in 2002 a friend who had been out there a while told me to bring a MTB. I had never owned a MTB before but promptly bought one from Halfords and took it with me.
After a a few Weeks of settling in and getting aclimatised my mate and I went on a training run outside the compound, something we had been strongly advised not to do, but what the heck....

After an hour of so in a very rocky and completely remote area we came upon a small area that looked like humans had been there, all we had seen up to that point had been small apes, we stopped to investigate and found an empty bottle of Jack Daniels Whisky....
Not to over dramatise this but this was incredulous to us, my mate unfortunatley was quicker than me and grabbed the bottle as a unique souvenir.

At Work the next day he boasted to every one, our job was working with and training the Saudi Air Force, within minutes he was whisked away to arrive back at work later that day letting us all know that he was joking and that he never found a bottle of Whisky.... I had just enough sense to keep my mouth shut.....

[wildrover]

our job was working with and training the Saudi Air Force,

Were you perhaps in Jeddah?  My husband had a similar job there in the 70s with Lockheed.  Oh the stories!

[il padrone]

Soft toys on the roadside at Lilydale, Tasmania

[Danneaux]

My goodness, Pete! You hit the jackpot with this one! Every Stuffo you'd ever hope to find...in one place! Tame, too, judging by how the one is eating out of the cyclist's hand... 

All the best,

Dan.

[ianshearin]

Ah the stories indeed Wild Rover, I wasnt based at Jeddah but did spend many weekends there Diving, but thats another thread.......

[Andybg]

Last year I found two small kittens (about 10 days old) dumped at the side of the road. Unfortunately it is a common issue in Bulgaria with unwanted animals being dumped.

It was about 40 degress centigrade and I used all the water I had on the bike to try to cool them down and rehydrate them.

Unfortunately at the time I had no bags on the bike so had to carry them home (about 50km) with them down the front of my cycling bib.

One of them passed away the following day but the other is now in fine fettle and is known as Fat Freddy.

Cheers

Andy

[Danneaux]

Aw, good on you, Andy! Heartbreaking outcome for the one; heartwarming for the other. A person has to try, and 50% odds meant 100% success for the one, where otherwise it would have been 100% bad for both. Must've been quite a trip home.

I have been adopted by a feral cat ("The Cat"). He is part of a project by animal welfare to collect stray cats, spay or neuter them, clip their ears to show it's been done...and dump them back where they were found. I think he is brain-damaged and formerly abused, but is grateful for the food and shelter. He cannot be touched, and -- very sadly -- flattens and runs when a person looks at him.

The Cat is a little discouraging 'cos the squirrels and raccoons (which are truly wild) have no hesitation about coming inside (!) if a door is left open, or eating out of one's hand (seeds intended for the bird feeders). I spent part of yesterday making a "Kitty Condo" out of a styrofoam cooler purchased for the purpose. The nights are getting cold here, and the styro and some wool blankets will keep him warmer.

Sigh. Sometimes it's us that get found. 

All the best,

Dan.