Quote Originally Posted by pll View Post
Let's not be judgmental about people (and their parents) we have not even seen. They could be part of some team, get their bikes with a discount. The bikes might not even be theirs.
Um, yeah. Glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. I mean seriously... they are on bikes, what more do you want of them?
I don't understand the underlying negativity to some of the comments. Is it a case of the haves and have nots? A few thread ago kids on bikes were being applauded for riding to school, and now there's snark about team kit for a high school team? This is a biking site isn't it?

I think it's awesome. So what if they are on expensive bikes. What's wrong with that? You don't know if they are on a team from a private school or what. If a parent bought if for them, that's good too... better on a bike than out smoking pot or glued to a video screen somewhere.

As for leaving the bikes unlocked, I can assure you, in their minds it was fine. Teen boys brains aren't fully wired to make reasonable decisions until they hit their twenties.

As a hard core skier, I have the same thing to say about kids on nice gear: so what. You don't know if they worked hard for it, got it for a birthday or holiday gift; bought it on sale, hand me down from someone who wasn't using it, work at a shop and got a deal on it... why the comments about nice gear? In our case we ski every weekend that we can, our boys were excellent skiers and on the ski patrol and damn straight they need good gear.

I'm glad to see mostly support for outfitting kids who are interested in something with decent gear. It can make a difference in whether they stick with a sport or not. I know it's tough in that not every family can afford good gear for their kids. Some of us can, and if not, if we are serious, we can find ways to make it work.

I.