When I started my search for an '85 Cinelli Centurion Equipe, I knew nothing of the rarity, nothing of the value, and very little of the story.

By the time I found one, then two, what I'd learned, and who I'd met really made the bike not matter. Of 75 made, I know of 5. During my hunt, I learned a bit about eBay, was aided by BF members in getting one out of a barn, built one into an Enzo red beauty, gathered with BF members in Wisconsin, and returned mine to a man whose greatest moments on a bike were on it. I connected with the distant family of the marque, learned the connection with the Ironman model, and had a whale of a time.

I learned who made the deal, who built the bikes, why they were silver, why they flopped, and just how well they were made.

Some things are just cool.

Bikes are, too.