The "BIG" score

[Torpedo]

Not so fresh finds but i thought i would share a story and some pictures This was my big score of 2009-Early in the year a fellow i know called me up and said he was moving into a farm house,he also said since you play with old bikes you better come over and have a look at this stuff! An old man that rented space in one of the barns had a stroke,he played with bikes in his time but was no longer able to because of his failing health so i took a drive up to see what i could find(north of Toronto)When i got to the farm there was already a 40 yard roll off box with many bikes already set for the scrap yard,as i got ready to dumpster dive he said go have a look in the pig pen and tossed me a key for the pad lock.I unlocked the door and was hit by an avalanche of bike wheels-here is a picture before i got the door fully open to the pig pen

 

[Torpedo]

This is what i saw when i got the door fully open

 

[Torpedo]

More

 

[Torpedo]

The upper level was full of wheels-hundreds of them!So i started to make a pile outside

 

[Torpedo]

I worked for hours just to see the inside floor and walls of the pig pen-making progress

 

[Torpedo]

A lot of stuff was rusty and damaged but i did find some good stuff too!The big barn also had bike stuff but that load already went to scrap and i missed it

 

[Torpedo]

The pig pen was falling apart and being on the upper level was scary!I had to crawl along slowly with wheels up to my forehead,the chance of a colapse was close at times but i kept on trucking,i almost became the meat of a bicycle parts sandwhich when i was on the upper level.after many van fulls of cherry picking i got what i wanted and the rest was to far rusted or damaged,then off to another small barn for other stuff.Sorry about the seperate posts-i can't seem to get all the pic's in one post,but that gives you an idea of what i found Hope you enjoyed some pictures of my score.

 

[A.S.BOLTNUT]

ahhh thats what dreams are made of,there is no way anyone would be able to drag me out of there ! :shock: :shock:bet that find did'nt smell so fresh,pig pen ewww :mrgreen:

got any pix,s of your pile ??

 

[Torpedo]

Some people are real pack rats and the old man that collected this was certified!What do you think? The worst part of the score was that one load already went to scrap before i got to the farm to dig through the many treasures...WHAT A SHAME :!:

 

[Torpedo]

A.S.BOLTON - No pig smell,that was a good thing,the barn was not used for pigs in years so i didn't have to deal with any bad odours,i was more worried about what was living in the barn under all that stuff-rats?racoons?skunks? But luckily i did not encounter any wildlife during the process.I spent almost a week at the farm doing a little bit each day and leaving at the end of day with my mini van full of stuff,at the time i had a small shop and things sold quickly as i got them in so i don't have many more pic's to show my haul,on top of that there was also non-bike related item's i was sorting and everything was a time sensitive issue so i didn't take many photos-also because of short daylight hours in the winter the darkness always crept up on me and it was to dark by the time i put my load together at the end of each day.One bonus was at the time scrap prices were at an all time low so i bought the stuff cheap

 

[A.S.BOLTNUT]

man sounds like fun..what a rush you must of had goin through all that stuff,glad too hear no smell.lucky you !

 

[Torpedo]

A.S.BOLTNUT Yup...that was fun and what a rush when i opened the door! I think my heart stopped for a moment but then restarted when i got hit in the head by falling bicycle wheels I just viewed pictures of your barn :shock: Nice collection :!: Do you go to many swap meets?

 

[Rat Rod]

How much old BMX stuff did you find?

 

[Torpedo]

I found a litle bit of everything-cruiser,roadbike,BMX.some really good stuff was in the bin already along with decent roadbikes and BMX with more scrap on top of that.I managed to pull some stuff out of the bin but alot was to far buried and probably bent from all the other heavy scrap being thrown on top(That was the second bin)who know's what was in the first bin that i missed? I guess it's better that this fellow called me later than never because if this guy was a friend he would have called me before he started filling the first bin! Friends don't let friends scrap good bikes!

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

that is crazy. I'll never understand why people collect stuff like that, in a fashion completely unaccessible, unprofitable, unuseable. Can someone explain it?

glad you made that discovery and got some good stuff for yourself. good pictures and story.

 

[BankerRAt]

great story! Ya i could never figure it out either unless he was think for $ in the scrap metal Joe?

 

[jaydub]

I bet it kills you to know what was all ready trashed and gone be for you got there..It kills me just thinking of it..LOL

 

[Wildcat]

Those pics are great. I'll show them to my wife when she demands I get rid of some bikes.

 

[A.S.BOLTNUT]

A.S.BOLTNUT Yup...that was fun and what a rush when i opened the door! I think my heart stopped for a moment but then restarted when i got hit in the head by falling bicycle wheels I just viewed pictures of your barn :shock: Nice collection :!: Do you go to many swap meets?

oh ya i know what the feeling of bikes falling on your head feels like,, that's happend to me a time or two ,thanx for checkin out my barn,i've been collecting for allmost 20 years now,swapmeets,yardsales,thriftshops,lookin over fences you name it ! it's trully a sickness, :lol: ,luckely i have a understanding wife and a great grandson for a excuse who by the way loves the hobby !!

 

[Torpedo]

Oh ya A.S.BOLTNUT sounds like you have that sickness too I attend as many swap meets and garage sales as i can! I go to over 40 swap meets a year mostly in Ontario and a few in Quebec but years ago i went all over to feed my sickness.I have been to swap meets in Michigan,Ohio,Illinois,Indiana,Pennsylvania,New York,New Jersey,Georgia and Florida,travelled many miles for the love of the hobby,seen many sites,met a ton of great people and always had an awesome time-No Wife Good Life! :mrgreen: (sometimes)but nice to hear that your wife is understanding,that always helps!Otherwise you have to hide your purchases around the corner with your other stuff.This summer i'm going to visit a friend of mine,he lives on a farm about 4 hours from my place and he has the sickness really really bad!!! His collection of treasures still makes me :shock: :shock: :shock: I will take a bunch of pictures for everyone here to enjoy but i'm going to need a much bigger memory card!It should make for some interesting viewing and reading :wink: