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I was not your typical thief. I was a good girl who never got into trouble. But there I stood in the park with my friend. We were only seven years old at the time, and we were amazed at our good fortune. Right there before our eyes, lying on the ground next to a picnic blanket with the leftovers strewn about was a shiny new ten speed. It was unattended and unlocked. We looked at each other wide eyed and wondered why anyone would leave their bike unlocked. We picked it up and began thinking about how we could get away with it. The truth is, it was really too big for either one of us to ride but we couldn't pass it up. It was only much later I wondered how I would have explained the bike to my mother.

Just then the couple to whom the bike belonged came walking over the hill. "Hey!" they shouted at us. We dropped the bike and ran with everything we had in us, our hearts pounding with terror at the idea of being caught in the act. Luckily the couple did not pursue. It was enough to bring an abrupt end to any possibility that I would become a professional thief.
Not many weeks before, my own brother had endured the heartache of a stolen bike, a Christmas present barely broken in. He and my father and I had driven around and around the neighborhood hunting the bike. We did eventually find it, but only the skeletal remains of the frame.
So how could a sweet and innocent girl like me have come so close to being the thief myself and even after having witnessed my own brother's tears and agony? The same way anyone becomes a thief, rationalization. If you are not properly locking your bike, the thief who happens upon it began generating justifications in his mind long before he ever found it. Rationalizations that probably made him go and seek out your bike.
"They must not appreciate what they have. Look at this flimsy lock. They spent hundreds or even thousands of dollars on this bike and a few bucks on the lock. They obviously have too much money. They can easily afford another bike. If they don't care about their property then I am right to take it. I need the money more than they do." Maybe with a little imagination, you can use your own evil nature to come up with some more rationalizations.
So lock it up, and lock it tight. Don't create opportunities for that person with weak character. Here are three of the best products on the market. They fall within the $90 to $120 range.

The best lock in the world is worthless if it's not used properly. You must make sure that

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