Mining for Road Gold

Sunday was my lucky day!

On my regular fitness ride, I spied something lying in the road. Not the usual car parts, trash, or road kill, but something cylindrical and blue.

My first thought was, 'What would Ciclista do?'. In my day job as a techie, I deal with lots of acronyms. I call this one W.W.C.D?

I imagine Il Campionissimo falso, zipping along on a fully loaded carbon fiber Campy-only Bianchi and dreaming of Fausto Coppi Giro d' Italia glory, would simply pass up something curious lying in the road. When you are so importante, time is money! (Isn't Yahoo! Babel Fish great?)

Fortunately, I have lots of time on my hands. And most certainly early on a Sunday while puttering along, enjoying some crisp, cool morning air. There was absolutely no traffic, so I swung a wide U-turn to check it out.

Score! A flashlight. Actually, a twin AA battery powered Mag-Lite. Nothing highly valuable...I think you can pick these up for eight or nine bucks at the local Walmart. The thing was pitifully beat up, scratched and scraped. I opened up the back and found two fairly fresh looking Duracell batteries. The bulb had been knocked loose and was rolling around inside the flashlight reflector and lens assembly.

I've never really found anything useful on the road. I did pass an automotive disc brake pad lying in the road the other day, and was hoping that car was already well past me. Otherwise, most of the stuff I see is either roadkill, trash, or something that might mangle my tires way beyond repair. I stuffed the light into my saddlebag and rode on.

After I returned home, I pulled the thing out of my saddlebag and showed it to my wife. She promptly told me to "throw that piece of sh*t in the trash" Just kidding, honey! :>) Undaunted, I unscrewed the lens assembly and re-installed the bulb.

Eureka! Not only did the bulb light, but it burned very brightly. I proudly toted it down to my Bike Workshop/Laundry room and added it to my burgeoning pile of mostly-working tools.

Maybe this bike riding stuff is starting to pay off!

Drop me a line and let me know if you've ever found something valuable while riding. Maybe it'll be good blog fodder.

-Dwight