List of Ex-Girfriends

The list is long.

Past lovers.

I recently split up with my long term lover, my lovely Llewellyn.

I've had a few past loves in the past. Mostly track, but in terms of road rigs I'd had Kenevans (about 12), Concorde, Saronni, Eddy Merckx, Colnago Master, Master Olympic, Super, Superissimo, Gianni Motta, Tommasini, Ciocc, Conti, Hillman, Roberts, Cinelli, Somec, Zullo just to name but a few.

You would be almost as familiar with my Llewelyn as me. She often popped up in the background, or featured around here. I rode her hard. I raced her hard. She took me to Adelaide in 3 days, to Warrnambool and back in 2, as well as numerous 'epic' rides in all sorts of weather.

Her beginnings for me started on ebay of all places. S.Power knew I loved Columbus Max and sent me a link to her listing. I'd bought a Kenevans MS from SP which was too big and had her own 'baggage'. The Llewellyn was listed with a flogged our Dura Ace 9 speed ensemble on her, and a dent in the chainstay not mentioned in the listing. She wore 'Molteni' orange and could be described as rough at best. I pulled on my bid boxing gloves, punched very hard and sure enough I won. She came to me in a brown box days later. After putting her back together I learned that Columbus Max, though listed as a 27.2 seat post, was often 27.4+ which explains the coke can shims that came out with the constantly slipping post. It wasn't quite love at first sight, but she would grow on me.

A month later I got slammed into the foot high curb outside the Forum in Melbourne by a Windscreens O'Brien truck, similiar to the method Theo Bos employs to clear traffic.

The flipside was the driver offered to pay for a respray, and 6 weeks later she came back to me with a repaired chainstay and mouth watering finish in Ferrari's patent blue. Paint by Joe Cosgrove, who paints exclusively for Llewellyn. To my mild disappointment the decals were the cureent style as the original waterslide sets were all gone.

I took the Record 9s groupset that came off my Superissimo and I was head over heels. This bike 'fit' and cornered with confidence. She, Llewellyn was no weight weeny. Columbus Max frame and fork was somewhere around 3.5kg, at one stage she ballooned out to 12.5kg with deep section rims, randonneur tyres, guards, lights but I loved her no less.

That's just my side of the story.

Put the kettle on, make yourself a brew and share a piece of Darrell McCulloch's mind. Her maker can give you an insight into her true beginnings.

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