Things Found While Bicycling

Daily Grouch: I am feeling rather mellow today so I do not have a grouch to discuss.

Before I mention all of the cool things I have found while riding my bike to and from work I should mention the beginning of a typical Los Angeles high speed pursuit that started right in front of me! After leaving the dentist I was sitting in my Jeep at the intersection of Magic Mountain and Valencia Blvd when I heard the sirens of approaching emergency vehicles. In the blink of an eye a sherriff's car flashed through the intersection on the red light without slowing a bit. Two more hung a right and headed down Magic Mountain at high speed. Suddenly three more crossed in front of me although these two slowed a bit. It turned out that they were in pursuit of a stolen SUV and the chase ended in Sylmar with a foot chase through the back yards of the neighborhood where the stolen vehicle crashed into a pickup truck. Just a typical day in Southern California

So there I was riding my bike on the way to work when I spied a CD disc laying in the road. This is not an abnormal thing since I probably see a CD on the road every other trip. Once when my Wife and I were out for a walk we found a whole case of recorded CDs laying in the gutter but that does not count since we were walking and not riding bikes. I wondered about this CD and all the others that I see. Does a frustrated driver toss it out the window when it skips? As MP3s become more popular will discarded CDs dwindle away? I put my mind to the categories of stuff that I see and even sometimes stop to pick up on my bicycle commuting and came up with this list (but not in order of finding frequency):

1. Shoes but never in pairs. How does one shoe end up on the road?
2. Women's undies.
3. CDs
4. Tools. I have stocked my tool box with sockets, screw drivers, wrenches, etc that must fall from cars where they were left while being worked on. 13 and 15mm sockets seem to be the most popular sizes.
5. Money. I wish I had saved the loot that I pick up instead of spending it. The street in front of bus stops are a particularly good place to spot change.
6. Wallets. Sometimes containing money and credit cards and sometimes empty. I've found and returned at least 4 wallets over the years. Once I took one to an LAPD station to turn in and the officer argued with me about leaving it there. Sheesh!
7. Credit cards. Stolen and then discarded?
8. Watches. Well only one and it had been run over.
9. Electronics. A couple of cell phones and once an Ipod that was laying in a busy intersection. I didn't want to stop and try to pick it up and get run over for my troubles.
10. Jewelry. I picked up a very nice gold necklace that had been run over and sort of flattened. I turned it in to the Glendale PD. They told me that if no one claimed it in a period of time it would revert to me. When I asked about it later no one knew anything about it at the station.
11. VHS and cassette tapes. These are a vanished species. I haven't seen either for a couple of years.
12, Hats and caps. I usually don't pick them up but I did see a nice black ski cap once that I stopped and picked up. After washing it I wore it for some months riding my bike until I lost it. Karma at work.
13. Gloves. Again always one. The other must be with the missing shoe.

I am sure there are other items but I can't think of them right now. I won't mention the roadkill.