I suppose this leads to the question - "where is this headed"?

Unfortunately, I have neither the artistic talent, nor the necessary software (much less the training with it) to create an image to display, so for now, the description will have to suffice.

While the Competition has the geometry and clearances that are appropriate for the metamorphosis, and while it does have braze-ons for fender mounts, there are several things lacking.

Firstly, there are no bottle bosses (yes, I could go uber-retro, but my experience has been that even with rubber backing, the old-school attachments serve as hidden meeting places for fine grain crud that tends to degrade the painted surfaces underneath. They also tend to loosen and slip, and are a tad less elegant than attaching a suitably artful cage or two.)

There are also no integral attachments for racks, and attachment of fenders is reliant on using the daruma arrangement. Nothing wrong with darumas per-se, but it's a couple extra parts, and can serve as an additional obstacle for potential wiring solutions.

As I plan on running a compromise modern drivetrain (2 x 9 bar ends), the rear dropouts need to be spread to 130mm, and bosses are being added to the downtube so stops for the gear cabling I will be using don't require a clamp either.

I've become a huge fan of higher volume tires, so I'd like to run something pretty thick on this one. I envision Grand Bois Hetre's on this, and despite the capabilities of modern Tektro side-pulls, that's going to require a couple of modifications. Cantilever brakes will be necessary to deal with the wide 650Bs that this will get, so posts will need to be added. Also (at gugie's recommendation), the fork rake will be tweaked to provide the proper trail for the type of riding that I intend to do with this. As I do not intend for this to be an outright touring bike that needs to deal with more than 25 lbs of gear distributed front and rear, I don't need additional fork bosses to accommodate racks that support low-riders.

However, I do intend to run this with generator hub lighting, and perhaps a conventional battery lamp as a back-up (this is a randonneuse after all). Gugie has recommended intra-fork wire routing, so there will be some small modifications made for that.

Finally (I hope I'm not leaving something out), seeing as my rear brake-bridge was mounted by a cockeyed torch-bearer experiencing the effects of an inebriant, the graceful arc will be repositioned, and the illustrated solution for the seat tube situation will be employed.

When all is done there, I will bring her back for painting. In a nod to the International that I lack, I'll be spraying the frame a Copper Rose Metallic with either dark brown or black (still undecided which) accents. Will add the decals and then clear coat it with a 2K gloss.

I will be transplanting the stem, bars, seat, changers, crankset and at least one of the racks from the Viking, and finishing it off with wheels that I'm going to build on new 650B rims, lighting and VO Zeppelin fenders.

One step as a time here though. Though Amazon says I will be receiving the Shimano Alfine dyno hub at some point today, and I have a replacement rear hub that I was able to acquire for a song from my friend, fellow vintage bicycle enthusiast, and proprietor of Velocity Bike & Bean here in Florence, Mark Ball, a household move may be in the works before I can get this all completed.