Quote Originally Posted by Reesha View Post
I think the OP's surprise was more with how the kids left the bikes unattended-- I see really careless attitudes every day with kids and their nice stuff. The kids at my school each get a laptop computer-- its unbelievable how they abuse them (because of an insurance policy on the lease, the don't have any incentive to take care of them-- they wouldn't have to pay) and destroy their nice smartphones and such. It's great to give a fantastic bike to a promising young racer, but I would definitely expect them to take really good care of it!!!
Adults do similar things. Yes, they do it less often, because they are more mature and because they have to pay for the replacement. But carelessness is not the exclusive province of the young.

I've seen smartphones and wallets dropped on the bike path fairly often (personally returned one of each to an adult); my SO has had a Xootr stolen three times; and even in NYC I've known adults who left an unlocked bike "just for a moment" and it disappeared.