Gladly. My Tour de France was given to me by my wife for my 56th birthday. I got it complete, minus wheels. The teardown and rebuild was done in the family room while I watched the 2006 Tour de France. Two months later it highsided me over the bars and broke my wrist when it threw the chain and locked the back wheel on a 25mph downhill run just shy of my driveway.

No problem. I healed, replaced the tensioner springs in the Criterium, and have put 2500 miles on it in the last four years. Of my sport bikes, it's always in the three-way tie for top mileage of the year, alongside my Rossin and my modern Fuji Finest.



Admittedly, it's a substitute. What I'm REALLY looking for is a 56-58cm Professional Gran Corsa frame, preferably in white, assuming it's cosmetically good enough to keep original. That's the bike I rode in college (1972-75), and I'd really like to build another. If anyone out there runs across one, please drop me a line.

The above picture is how it initially hit the road. Changes since then include a Favorit leather saddle, and the factory optional wheels - Campagnolo Tipo hubs with Super Champion tubular rims.

While I'm thinking of it: Has anyone ever seen one of these frames in what is best called a blackberry paint job? Black, with a strong undercurrent of red in the color. Mike Amidon in the old Presque Isle Bike Club had one, and it's the only one I've ever seen.