Back around 2010, I was gifted my dad's old Bianchi road bike. He'd had it ever since I could remember, and it always had a vintage allure and was part of what made me get into cycling in the first place (Breaking Away, not withstanding). I got my first ten speed Raleigh for my birthday one year in elementary school and I absolutely loved that thing.

Anyhow.

When I got the bike, it was in quite the state of disrepair. Decades of garage storage, sweat from my dad riding his wind trainer on it, and just age had wreaked havoc on the frame. Cables were rusted out. It was kind of a disaster.

But I decided I wanted to restore it, not having done much work on bikes before. I spent a ton of time disassembling, soaking the frame to remove the rust, delicately cleaning chrome and aluminum parts, tracking down period-correct decals, replacement parts, and putting my own spin on the rest. I had a client at the time who did custom cars and restorations, and he stripped, re-chromed, and repainted the frame for me as a trade, making sure to use the same colors of primer and such.

It turned out really beautiful.

Fast forward to 2016 and I found myself in need of rent money after being laid off. I didn't have a lot worth selling, but I had that, and I had not been riding for various reasons. So I made the difficult decision to sell it.

And I have regretted it ever since. Especially now, as things have gotten more complicated with my dad's health and such.

So I have decided it's time to try to track it down. Unfortunately, I no longer have the contact info of the man who purchased it. I know he was from Colorado. I know he was latino. I know he was a collector of vintage bikes. He sent a couple relatives to pick up the bike and paid in cash.

The bike is a 1964 Bianchi Specialissima Team Issue. The lore passed down is that it was a backup bike that was never raced by the team. It was eventually bought by a Portland bike shop employee, then eventually sold to my dad. At least that is the Cliff Notes version. My dad did a whole deep dive on the provenance of it back when he gifted it to me.

The bike itself did not fit me super well, but it's not really about that. I can always put a shorter stem on. It's more about the family history, the blood, sweat, and tears, and the fact that my dad asked me to never sell it. He knows I sold it now, and he understands. But I still would like it back.

So my appeal to the internet is this: if you, or someone you know of, owns this bike, I'd love a chance to buy it back, have first right of refusal if you sell it in the future, or at the very least, know where it is and how it is doing.

There are some distinguishing features I can use to verify it is the correct bike, but in the interest of avoiding scams, I am going to keep that stuff somewhat under wraps until I get any bites.