One of my favorite reasons to ride my bike is finding lost and abandoned items on the roadway. I find all sorts of crazy stuff! What I do with it depends on the situation. If the item is in the road and it looks useable, I will probably scoop it up and put it in my backpack. If it's too big, I will leave it, but have been known to return with a car to retrieve the item later.
 |
| I know I'm going to find something to do with this heavy duty plastic sheeting?! The roll is approx. 18 inches long. | |
|
The thing I find the most of is gloves. Most of the time gloves are lost singly. But a surprising amout of times, the pair is right next to eachother or just a few feet or yards apart. In the winter gloves are abundant as well as winter hats and scarves.
 |
| Winter cap (found under the I-95 Boulevard bridge) |
After the Richmond Marathon every year I celebrate an annual harvest of forgotten articles at Bryan Park. One of the shorter races weaves through the back side of the park and many people leave behind stuff as they leave, likely never to return until next year at the earliest.
 |
| Adjustable wrench found last year some time |
|
|
I don't pick up work gloves or gloves that are too messed up. I also avoid socks and underwear! But after washing everything thoroughly, I have plenty of warm stuff each winter for myself and to share with others.
 |
| These socks were an exception. They were on the road for about a month before I just had to bag them. |
A few good things I've found recently
 |
| 3 pieces of unbroken Pyrex and a Corning Ware casserole dish with top (found under the I-95 Boulevard bridge) | |
 |
| The cookware soaking in my studio utility sink. |
 |
| I rode past this utility knife and had to come back to check it out. |
 |
| It even has a good blade in it! |
There are lots of things that look interesting, but if I don't know what it is, I probably won't pick it up.
 |
| I don't know what this thing is. But it looked important! |
 |
| Reverse side of the important thingy. Found on the bridge over I-95 at Hermitage/Lakeside. |
 |
| I have found silverware on numerous occasions. |
 |
| This fork looked great until I picked it up and saw it was plastic! |
|
 |
| I guess this fell out of someone's truck leaving the U-haul across from the Diamond. |
 |
| Looks like it survived any damage. It was gone by the time I went home that night. |
Looking out for stuff isn't just for my sake. Sometimes I find things that need to be returned. Twice I have found wallets and found a way to get them back to their owners. One time, I found a cane in the middle of the road. It had a name and phone number, so I called and left it at their residence. The other day, I found an unopened back of long grain white rice on the street, right next to a curb. I left it on the stairs of the house it was in front of.
Yes, I'm a scavenger, but I hate the idea of leaving good stuff to rot in the weather.
