When I moved to Aspen four years ago I purchased a bike to get around town – a Trek Cruiser. What I refused to buy, despite recommendations to do otherwise, was a bike lock. It would have altered my view of Aspen as a crime-free utopia. Truth is, I really did not think I would need a bike lock and so far I haven’t.

In Aspen, I have found that a bike can be left anywhere, for days at a time, unlocked, and it will still be there when you go back for it. Growing up in south Florida my bike was stolen right from under me, literally. Some punk, who was much larger than me, tackled me off my bike a rode away with it. “Just taking it for a spin,” he had said as I tried frantically to chase him down. Needless to say, I never saw the bike again. Riding the streets of Aspen I take pleasure in knowing the people I pass will not body slam me and steal my cruiser.

I do see a lot of bikes locked up around town and several people, including my wife, have said that I am an idiot for not using a lock, but I’ve had four years of positive reinforcement and I’m not about to change my ways.

This winter a friend asked me why my bike had been sitting outside Cooper Street Pier for the past week. I told him that my bike was parked in a garage and I hadn’t ridden it in weeks, that it must be a bike that looks just like mine. I didn’t think about it again until I passed Cooper Street a few days later. There, leaning against a tree, was my Trek Cruiser. Apparently someone had taken it for a joy ride.

Maybe I’m giving the citizens of Aspen too much credit. Maybe there are a few thieves lurking around out there and I’ve just been lucky. Maybe, in fact, I am doing harm by tempting otherwise good people to commit a crime. “Hey, I’m an unlocked bike over here! Take me! Go ahead, take me!” If that’s the case, I apologize to all those delinquents who have struggled with whether or not to pilfer my bike.

I think It boils down to this; leaving my bike unlocked and coming back to find it untouched gives me faith that humans are an inherently good and moral species. Ha, I’m just yanking your chain.