Last week I found a bicycle lock while I was cycling into town. It was the cable type with a 5-digit combination, and quite expensive. I live a few kilometers outside the center of Byron Bay, and there is a decent bike path most of the way into town that is well travelled by hundreds of commuting cyclists every day. On this particular day I was racing into town during a brief pause between rain showers to get some groceries. This winter has been the "wettest" on recent record, and as my bike is my primary means of transportation, these rare breaks between showers have to be exploited. It was still drizzling a fine mist as I pedaled my way along the wet bike path towards town.
By no means could it have been considered "a good day for cycling". Nonetheless, there were more cyclists on the road that day than on the sunniest of summer days. Apparently, the cycling community of Byron writ-large was capitalizing on the temporary reprieve from the rain to "get into town". Mid-way along my journey I spied a bike lock on the edge of the path where the concrete meets the green verge of lawn. "Bummer", I thought as I instinctively applied my brakes. The front and rear pads squealed in whining protest as their worn surfaces pinched the wet rims of my wheels. I completed the 180 degree turn and cycled back to pick up the lock. It was a quality lock, and I knew from personal experience that it would be sorely missed...
A few months before, I had lost a very similar cable-lock when it apparently fell out of an open pocket in my rucksack. Realizing it was missing, I quickly retraced my route, cycling around town looking for my lock in the roadside rain gutters and near the posts and poles where I had stopped. I never found it. I kept up my search for the next few days, scanning for high-visibility spots where perhaps some cycling Samaritan might have left it for me to easily find. As a last resort, I visited the "Lost and Found" at the Information Center, but to no avail. A few days later I conceded the loss and bought a new lock. That was back in late May - the beginning of wettest Winter in Australian history.
So, when a few months later, I spotted that cable-lock by the side of the path, I really did sympathize with it's owner. After I picked up the lost lock, I looked around for the most highly visible location where I thought I might place it to increase it's chance of being found by the owner. (See photo above) I reasoned that much in the same manner in which we have all seen car hubcaps intentionally propped up against the sidewalk - usually in a particularly sharp curve of the road, where they tend to spin off. A certain type of person had placed it specifically there: upright and clearly visible, in hopes that it might eventually be collected by it's owner should they drive again along their familiar route. Similarly, I imagined, every cyclist making their way into town would be confronted by the lost lock as they slowed to enter the large roundabout on Bangalow Road. They might mention having seen it to other cyclists if asked. It rested, neatly coiled, atop that pole for three consecutive rainy days. It was picked up by someone the fourth day. It was the first sunny day in weeks. I choose to believe that it is now reunited with it's owner... after all, it would be of no use to anyone without the combination.
