To honor the generosity shown by @
SpeedofLite and his friend who unfortunately had to move his bikes onward, I felt I should build it up and provide some of the story.
SOL... oops, not good to abbreviate that... put a call out for values for a few items his friend was moving onward. Having lusted after a Bianchi Celeste since I was young, I looked on with interest. It was determined that it was rusty and not probably worth much. I thought I would like to take on the project and suggested it had value! They decided it would be free to someone who wanted to restore it.
Bit of background. As a youngster, we grew up without much and so my bikes were precious. I shoveled snow and raked leaves to get my first, a Peugeot UO something. Loved that. Was hooked. At the age of 14 (1981), I started reading catalogs until the staples and binding broke. Three that kept calling to me were the AD Ultima, Lotus Supreme and a Celeste Bianchi.
A Bianchi Randonneur would have to suffice. In any case here are some build photos!
