Hi dude,

well, one question: do they know they have stolen it from you? Because if yes, you are in a much more complicated position than if not.

Sc.

Hi guys,
As usual with polls, none of the above  :  )

Firstly, if I definitely know who stole it, I'd tell nobody. I'd then compare what they're doing with it to what I normally do with it.

If they are putting it to more beneficial use than I, I'd ignore it.
(This is exactly what happened some years ago when someone nicked my sons bike. He hardly ever rode it, didn't lock it up and couldn't be bothered to sell it, so he said, they probably need it more than I do).

If they are not, I'd quietly steal it back, paint it a different color purely for humorous purposes,  and get on with life, obviously learning two things -one, don't trust this thief around my gear and two, improve my own security.

You've obviously resolved this successfully already, but would the interaction have been as effective if the thief had been less intelligent? The response depends on the person and interaction is great when its possible, so obviously this was the best choice. If the person isn't approachable I'd leave them out of the equation, as above.
Nice one  :  )
AR