Help me find my Guerciotti

Hi everyone - Apologies for crashing this thread, but I'm on a crazy quest in search of my old road bike...

A good friend put me on to the forum after hearing my amusing tale of heartbreak, about how I was separated from my beloved Guerciotti, 22 years ago.

I used to do lot of cycle racing in and around Surrey during the late eighties and early nineties; road races, circuits, time trials, cyclo-cross - the usual stuff.

I owned various bikes during this period, but none as fantastic as my Guerciotti. She was a real beauty. I built her up myself when I was about 15 years old, by earning money for the components through paper rounds, restaurant jobs and other part time work.

I raced her for about 3 years and then went to Uni where I met a girl who I'll refer to as 'Mary', for the purpose of this tale. After a couple of years Mary and I decided to go on holiday, and to afford my share of the trip I (very) reluctantly sold my Guerciotti through the local cycle shop (why, why, why did I do that!?).

The holiday had been great, and on our final night, walking back from a nightclub in the balmy midnight heat of Spain, we stopped by the lapping waves of the Med and watched the lightning of a storm break on the horizon. It was also at this point that Mary told me she had 'done the dirty' on me, a few weeks previously with a bloke from her home town.

Having spent some moments (and a few choice words) processing this 'breaking news', I then remembered how I had come to afford this (suddenly rather grizzly) holiday. I felt sick, and spent the following day's journey back to the UK willing the aircraft to land in order that I could go back to the cycle shop and somehow negotiate a 'buy-back' of my beloved bike.

But alas, when I did eventually get home and contact the shop, I was told the bike had been sold 2 days previously. My beloved Guerciotti was gone, and I was crushed.

So now, 22 years on, I am hoping to be reunited with the Guerciotti I so reluctantly sold. I know it's a long shot, and she may no longer be around, but if she is, I'd like to find her and would be grateful for any help, leads etc...

Here's the spec

Sold: c1994, via 'Fullers' shop, Dorking, Surrey

Frame: Guerciotti (Red), Columbus SL tubing (I'm guessing it would have been made in mid eighties)
Forks: Chromed
Saddle: Rolls (black)
Bars: Cinelli (silver), white tape, black brake hoods, concealed brake cables
Brakes: Campagnolo (Chorus)
Derailleurs: Campagnolo (Chorus)
Gear shifts: Campagnolo (Chorus), on down-tube
Chainset: Campagnolo (Chorus)
Wheels: Rims: Mavic (Black). Hubs: Campagnolo (Chorus)
Pedals: LOOK

So, if this rings any bells or has jogged your memory, please (please) get in touch. Circulate this as much as you want, tweet it, facebook it, etc etc. I'd be very happy to hear from anyone who thinks they may have a lead worth following up.

And for those that have read this far - "Yes", Mary and I ceased to continue and I have since found a new love that has created two little 'loves'. The cycling bug never left me and I got back on the road again about 5 years ago, and have been hauling all 42 of my years along the lanes of Hampshire ever since.

Thanks for any help...

Did you learn nothing in that storm, on the beach, 22 years ago?

You need to own your choices just as you learnt to own your future once Mary had left on that bus. Times change, faces leave our lives and new ones come in, bringing riches we would never have imagined. The people we leave behind carry our worst sadnesses with them as a parting gift.

Has the penny dropped yet? That Guerciotti WAS Mary, and had to go to set you free. You can scour the eBay listings and the bike shops of Surrey for all your life, in a fruitless quest. But should you ever find her, time will have sullied what you ever held dear. The Cinelli Splash tape will strike you as an annoying distraction rather than an endearing quirk; you will see the smattering of Shimano left by another man's hand; the careworn paint will have no lustre for you.

You have seen the wisdom in all this and now enjoy the happiness in your family life Mary could never bring you. Learn from that and cast a jaunty net for other treasures, ones that offer you new things - Ergos, deep rims, a compact chainset befitting your years? Whatever the choice, make A choice, before it is too late and you have nothing to tell your children but how you wasted your life chasing that which you were always meant to lose.

Hope that helps....

Now Lad Thats food for thought well written Flesh

fleshtuxedo":2cznhavs said:

Learn from that and cast a jaunty net for other treasures, ones that offer you new things - Ergos, deep rims, a compact chainset befitting your years?

Don't have something fitting to sell do we?

Hope that helps....

Click to expand...

Now THAT is funny!

Re:

hi, yes i understand that feeling of love for a particular bike and for moments
when you were really enjoying your youth.
strong,super fit and full of exitement of the world.
a partnership had been struck with the bike the set up size and geometry all good
for you and yr weight in that era.but like a lot of things untill they are gone you never realise.
i ts a comforting thing for a man to have a special bike to him, or loads of spares
and frames which he keeps losing and tripping over and stuff :roll: ,even if one becomes
a bit invalid'd[cor i was crippled up for 3 days the other week !]theres always the bike.
good luck with your search.

kevin

Nice words

Maybe we should relabel this " The Meaning of Life the Universe and Everything" thread.