A post-modern felix culpa?

This morning Clare went to the gym, and after a wound clinic visit for a dressing and acquired fresh medical supplies for home use, I did the week's grocery shopping and cooked lunch. Clare decided it was time to spring clean the garden shed. The question arose of what to do with my bike, which has been taking up space now for several years. 

Sad to say, I'll never ride one again, not just because of a back end vulnerability which may persist, but also because my knees are hinting at a level of ageing wear and wear which I don't want to exacerbate un-necessarily. I have a theory that bike riding during the spell of hot summer locum duty on the Costa Azahar back in 2012 may have contributed initially to the condition which developed in summer last year.

Anyway, it was time to dispose of the bike. It's worth little and could do with an overhaul. We don't now have a car big enough to accommodate a bike safely on a journey to the municipal recycling site, and n either Clare nor I fancy riding it there. Should we advertise it for free on the 'Nextdoor Pontcanna' neighbourhood social network or on 'Freecycle', to see if we get any takers? 

Jokingly, I suggested just parking it outside against the house railings unlocked, and see how long it takes for it to get stolen. Bike theft is one of the most common petty crimes which happen in our area, although many of these are expensive rides, stolen from bike shed break-ins, in our newly gentrified locality.

While I was out shopping, Clare took my suggestion seriously, pumping up the tyres and propping it up against the wall outside our front bay window. Within two hours, it was gone! Problem solved. I did an extra circuit around our neighbouring street to see if it had been ridden a short way and then dumped, but there was no sign of it, so it must still be working, even if a little stiff and rusty. So, no, you can even leave a cheap old bike unlocked in a quiet urban street for very long without it getting stolen, conveniently or otherwise.Any more than anyone can leave their doors unlocked nowadays. Such are the times we live in. And for most of my life we tended to believe we were making social progress, building a brave new world. Materially we may be better off, but morally? Spiritually?