No wonder they block BF at your office

But seriously, the other thing that I was thinking but didn't mention is that I suspect all to often the bike is not in the "original" condition - and by that I don't like it rolled out of the factory but as it was when it was used and ridden whether by somebody famous or just a regular guy. When I see a bike that's 30-50 years old or more, and the paint is faded and flaking off and the chrome is rusted and the bar tape is tatered and worn, I don't think of it as having gotten that way from being well used and ridden hard over the years. Rather, I think that while it may have been well used and ridden hard, at some point it got relagated to a dank basement or the back room of a shop and there the damage ocurred. When it was put there it was probably in pretty good shape but it has since suffered from years of neglect that have resulted in its present condition. I don't necessarily want to undue the normal wear and tear that forms the patina of a vintage bike. That's where I think the partial restoration comes in - just undoing the damage that occured after the bike stopped being cared for and maintained. In the case of my Bottecchia that wasn't really a major problem - rather, the original owner maintained it well but in a way that I would not have (i.e. - he replaced the original Campagnolo rear derailleur with a Suntour, replaced the leather saddle with a plastic one, etc) so I "corrected" his changes not necessarily to original spec but to what I would have done myself if I had the bike then so for example, I used a Nuovo Record rear derailleur which would have been an upgrade to original spec. It gives it a personal touch.