A few years ago, I stole my son's Kona bike back, which I had spotted locked in front of a local high school. Armed with a sledge hammer, it took me about 5 minutes to smash open the U-lock. That's when the new "owner" of the bike, who had got it from local classifieds, came with the police, who was ready to arrest me on the spot. Luckily, the cop believed me when I told him the bike was my son's, and that it had my social insurance number engraved on it. I also told him where I had bought the bike, and luckily our LBS who meticulously kept all serial numbers on file confirmed that I had purchased the bike. Believe it or not, the cop asked me to pay the other guy $30 for the damaged lock, which I did reluctantly, knowing myself very well and my usual bad attitude when confronted by authority, which could have had me handcuffed and dragged to the police station in front of 500 of my son's friends...