Paper Airplane

Wet Airplane

Found this wet paper airplane near the end of a really long run.  It had been raining, and this is stuck to the sidewalk next to a rather busy street, soaked, but completely intact, like someone had just placed it there, and walked off.

Found on the sidewalk next to Jimmie Leeds Road in Galloway, NJ.

-AB

What to do when you forget the BodyGlide

Every runner knows the pains that come with distance running. And every runner knows the worst of those pains: chaffed raw skin in the shower.

Recently, Abandoned Bread was on business travel and neglected to pack anti-chafe goop. Abandoned Bread proudly uses Bag Balm (thanks for the tip, Mom), but doesn’t receive any kick-back from them (more’s the pity).

With that week’s long run done, AB hopped into the shower with the running shorts so as to rinse them off while still wearing them, ready and braced for the searing pain that was sure to come.  Surprisingly, the raw red patches left on thighs and personal bits from 16 sweaty miles, … didn’t sting a bit.  To be clear: there was definitely rub-rash, but there was no pain or screaming when the hot water hit, normally an inevitability after a lube-free long run.

As often happens in the shower, an interesting idea began to form:  Why, when so many other post-trot cleanups had gone howlingly wrong, was this one so benign?  Could wearing shorts into the shower be the answer, the golden key of pain prevention so long sought by distance runners?

Perhaps this phenomenon was due to the gradual introduction of water to the offended skin, or perhaps it was because the raw patches hadn’t had time to dry between the scraping and the cleaning.  There is no way to know.  Just understand, Abandoned Bread is not going to intentionally experiment on this again, unless the goop gets forgotten.

-AB

What is the Abandoned Bread Blog?

What is ABB?  It started on an afternoon commute home on the bicycle.  Out of nowhere there was this loaf of bread on the side of the road.  It wasn’t deformed or squashed or had any skid marks.  It was just there.  A few feet later, there was another, which seemed odd.  The next day, similar location, more bread products on the side of the road, but definitely different ones than from the previous day.  On the third day, even more original baked goods, almost as if someone had just tossed them there without a second thought.  Then the idea just materialized:  Abandoned Bread.

It seems a fitting allegory for cycling, and bicycle commuting in specific.  Cyclists seem to be a fringe group these days, and bicycle commuters a fringe subset, almost abandoned by society.  Recall what you think when you see a lycra’d-up middle-aged dude pedaling a road bike on Saturday morning; goof, weirdo, masochist.  Or what goes through your mind when you see a guy in worker’s clothes weaving down the road on a beat-up mountain bike during rush hour; poor, migrant, DUI.  In each case, most people have mentally ‘abandoned’ these cyclists to the side of the road, much like the bread, paying it no mind, just an afterthought that went past the window at 45 mph.

That’s what Abandoned Bread is, something odd you notice briefly on the side of the road.  This site was started to share the more interesting items discovered while cycling and running, the unusual stuff.  Everyone has seen roadkill, or cigarette butts, or hubcaps.  But have you seen a plus-sized pink polka-dot bra, or one [formerly] shiny light pink-peach high-heel shoe that looks like it belonged to a bridesmaid, or an intact paper airplane stuck to the pavement by rain?  In short, have you seen Abandoned Bread?

So enjoy what’s been found.  The items aren’t collected, they are left for others to encounter as well.  Enjoy.

-AB