Actually, that is another line of irony.
I was referring to the "true" meaning of L'Eroica - suffering. Buying the Bianchi bike is easy, convenient. Hardly the suffering of collecting C&V bikes.
But for the record, I feel the "true" meaning of L'Eroica is a crock. First, it is a commercial event with a brand. There is no meaning to any commercial endeavor. Second, when it first started, L'Eroica was just a bunch of C&V people, just like us, getting together for a ride. No exclusivity. If you didn't have a C&V bike, they could not of cared less. In my opinion, the current amount of hand-wringing about the rules is pathetic. It's just a bunch of people getting together for a ride. Next, the idea we should suffer like a 20-something professional bike racer from the past is even more sad. I am not 20 something. I am not a professional racer. I have never been a professional racer. To think I live in some fantasy world where I have delusions of being Coppi or whoever is edging on insulting. And finally, what exact level of "suffering" is acceptable? Going to make rules about that too? I just like riding old bikes. Nothing less. Nothing more.
+1
If Andy Hampsten, the only American to ever win the Giro, hasn't been interested in riding road "race" geometry bikes since his professional peloton days ended, why should I?
I'm firmly in the camp that road geometry is for poseurs that didn't play competitive sports when they should have. Show me someone trying to ride an aggressive saddle to bar drop into their 40s/50s and I'll show you someone who cares more about what they look like than actually how comfortable they are on the ride. 99% of people on road/race bikes couldn't ride 50% of their milage in the drops of THEIR own bikes. So why have road bars with drops? You could actually cut the handlebars off below the STI/Ergolever mounts and functionally the bike would be lighter! What is all that handlebar actually for if they can't even reach it?