Found $$$ on trail, WWYD?

[Buzzsaw]

JRA today and came across some money blowing across the trail. For a minute I looked around, maybe it was a setup for Candid camera?

What Would YOU do?

Pick it up.
leave it.
shred it up and through it to the wind while saying a wish in your head?

Just curious to see what some of YOUR thoughts on this subject might be?

[dubjay]

Depends..how large were the bills?

If it was a significant amount, I would have picked up the money and headed straight to a bike shop to score some new parts.

[CeeDubb]

Originally Posted by dubjay

Depends..how large were the bills?

I'd assume they'd be standard size...2 1/2" x 6"

[foofighter]

dunno that's a tough call.

[allison]

Good responses so far

I dunno, I guess it would depend on whether or not it was like $100 or $1. Or, maybe not.

I pick up pennies and quarters off the ground all the time... But, a benjamin is slightly different than a cent, I guess.

[mechmann]

nothing to do but put it toward a good cause, my next bike fund!

no way to trace cash, and if it was less than 100 dollars then it isn't a huge loss to anyone. if it was 100 dollars or more, then you definitely should keep it since the people growing the pot near the trail don't want you to know about them in the first place.

[dubjay]

Originally Posted by allison

Good responses so far

I dunno, I guess it would depend on whether or not it was like $100 or $1. Or, maybe not.

I pick up pennies and quarters off the ground all the time... But, a benjamin is slightly different than a cent, I guess.

Speaking of pennies, there's a penny in the middle of the trail on the Old San Juan Loop near the tree bridge (after it, if you're going clockwise).

I didn't stop to pick it up, but wonder if someone else will .

[CeeDubb]

Originally Posted by allison

Good responses so far

I dunno, I guess it would depend on whether or not it was like $100 or $1. Or, maybe not.

I pick up pennies and quarters off the ground all the time... But, a benjamin is slightly different than a cent, I guess.

Allison...you're wrong.

The only similarity between a benjamin and a cent, is that they're both US currency and that they're both legal tender for all debts, public and private...

The list of differences is long:

1. Size
2. Weight
3. Color
4. Molecular make-up
5. Shape
6. Specific monetary worth
7. Presidential likenesses
8. etc.

And that cash would probably go in my pocket. It's to help defray the losses incurred over my own lost cash over the years.

[allison]

Cee - I TOLD you they were different

[CC]

I found $5 the other day in line and no one wanted to claim it. But with cash you might as well pocket the $$. If you don't the person you give it to most likely will. I gave the money to my kids and they bought sodas.

If it's not cash, I would definitely try to find the rightful owner.

[jeffj]

If it's significant at all, it could be important to the person that lost it. You could post a flyer at the trailhead saying something vague like:

Lose Something Here On 8/21/07?

Call me at xxx.xxx.xxxx to identify lost item(s)

[Buzzsaw]

The money found today was only 2 bucks. Not much, so I left it there. I started to think about it the rest of the ride though. It all boiled down to the "stoke" factor.

It would really "Stoke" the person out if they turned around and back tracked their steps and found the money.

It would really "Stoke" me if it WAS $100s or $50s. That would really be put to good use on the bike and towards to after ride beverage.

[CeeDubb]

Originally Posted by jeffj

If it's significant at all, it could be important to the person that lost it. You could post a flyer at the trailhead saying something vague like:

Lose Something Here On 8/21/07?

Call me at xxx.xxx.xxxx to identify lost item(s)

You may get tons of phone calls for all sorts of stuff like lost glasses, keys, gloves, hats, etc.

I would be more specific and just post a flyer asking if anyone had lost any money.

Please provide the following:

1. Total Amount (with breakdown of denominations)
2. Serial Numbers
3. If no serial numbers, provide the "Series Year," and the Treasurer's and the Secretary of the Treasury's signatures that were on the bills.

[Rkoa63]

Just keep it. If it was an extremely large amount of cash someone would definitely be posting a "If Found Please Call" sign.

Even if you posted a sign you would still have boneheads calling:

Them: Ya I lost like $200 on the trail the other day.
You: Well it was only $147
Them: Oh, you must not of found the other $53 blowing in the wind. When/where can I claim my $147?

Different amounts of money mean different things to people. Even if it was $10 and it was THAT important to someone, they would of been back on the trail looking all over for it and/or posting signs. So enjoy your new found wealth and if your wallet goes missing next week you will know its our good friend Karma coming back to get you

[STP]

The most interesting 'money found' on ride, happened to my girlfriend and I, earlier this year. We were almost back to the car on the curved section of a paved hill and I noticed a bunch of shiny spots on the road.

Turned out that a car had flipped and rolled multiple times the previous night, ejecting all of it's contents. Interestingly enough, they picked up all the car debris, but left the spare change. The spare change was scattered over a two hundred foot long section of road.

Filling the jersey pockets a couple of times over, we got back home and it came up to $95! Not a lot, but not chump change either...

[CeeDubb]

Originally Posted by Rkoa63

So enjoy your new found wealth and if your wallet goes missing next week you will know its our good friend Karma coming back to get you

So finding money isn't the karma replacing the money I've previously lost?

Kinda like a twisted "Pay-It-Forward" type of situation...

[dubjay]

Originally Posted by STP

Filling the jersey pockets a couple of times over, we got back home and it came up to $95! Not a lot, but not chump change either...

Dang! That is a lot of change that was being carried around in the car. I usually don't have that much unless I'm on the way to a Coinstar machine.

[jeffj]

Originally Posted by Buzzsaw

The money found today was only 2 bucks.

In that case, just about anything you do with it would be OK

[mechmann]

on Pain Divide, there are several sections of climbs that have change on them. i have seen dimes and quarters and nickels. i know that they are put there by the people that had to stop and rest, either as temptation for the rest of us that don't stop, or as a donation to the trail gods that they might not hurt them so bad next time and allow them to continue on and not stop for a breather.

another possible explanation is that i am suffering so bad that i am hallucinating, but we won't go there.

either way, i won't stop and pick them up.

[Winger]

During Counting Coup a $5 bill floated across the trail in front of me. Yeah, it was a race, but I still stopped and picked it up.

....so that accounts for 30 seconds of the hour+ I was behind the leader.