This is not the first time that the Bob Jackson bicycle has been supplanted by a Bianchi.
When Donna and I came to Aiken in 1989 we each had our touring bikes originally purchased somewhere around 1980. Donna’s was the original Takara 970 and mine was the Takara 990, except for the replacement Bob Jackson frame. After we joined the Aiken Bicycle Club we both got to riding a lot more and greater distances. The Takara/Bob Jacksons were just fine. Besides the Saturday & Sunday club rides we were also commuting back and forth to work 3 or 4 times a week. Me being a glutton for punishment used to try to also ride in the Tuesday & Thursday evening bike store rides.
The bike store rides were 25 miles or so out and back from the shop and while there were a few other Aiken Bike Club riders there were also a few of the local triathletes and hammerheads. Needless to say these were very quick rides and while I could hang a while with the pack eventually somewhere around the turn-around point I would find myself spit out the back. One of the real strong riders who was about my size offered to sell me his Giant Cadex carbon fiber machine because he was going to upgrade to something nicer. It looked remarkably like this and served me well for about 3 years before I sold it to help finance a couple of Bridgestone mountain bikes for Donna and I.
The Bob Jackson soldiered on as my ride-to-work and Sunday fun ride mount until I got the bug to get another road bike for the Saturday longer rides. This time I lucked into a nice bike1 for a nice price from a fellow ABC member Big Clint2 who was going to update his machine. Big Clint loved the Bianchi mystique, his next bike was also going to be one too, but he hated the Celeste color as much as I do and he had had the bike painted silver and purple.
This time when I needed another used bike to replace the Bob Jackson, another Bianchi fell into my lap.