vintagerando

So, I bought a beat-up Waterford 1200 Series a couple months ago. The frame has some rust issues and had seized water bottle cage bolts. But definitely still usable. When I bought it the seller informed me that the fork was not original; Ok, the price was right, so I just bought it. The Seller did mentioned that maybe the bike shop that replaced the original fork with a carbon would have the old fork. It would be a one-in-a-million. Something like 10 years or so had past. Recently, I starting planning the re-build of this bike; slowly collecting a complete Ultegra/105 group set to use. I noticed the shop sticker where the bike was sold, 2 hours away from me. So, I called the shop. The owner answered; I told him the story and asked about the fork. The shop owner actually recalled the bike; the former frame owner was a regular customer. The shop owner said it was highly unlikely he had the fork. He was ready to end the conversation; I asked "please, can you just poke around and see it you have the fork". I got an email a week later with a photo of my fork!!! He found it. I drove up there today; spent over 4 hours round trip. But, I got the fork back. So, the story is not over yet because there is a seized stem in the fork. I am going to try and cut it with a hack saw from the inside. Wish me luck, I will need it. Miracles happen sometimes, I guess.