Friday, December 16, 2011

Stocking Stuff

This isn't meant as a hint at all - just a few ideas for thoughtful, practical, relatively low-priced gifts for bike commuting loved ones.

Lights & reflectors - I might have mentioned this before.  And batteries, too.  And spare tubes and tire levers.

Smart Wool - I've tried lots of high-tech sweat-wicking, insulating, wind and rain-resistant fabrics.  This winter I'm trying out wool.  Now I have new Smart Wool glove-liners and a helmet liner; they are thin and light, good insulators, but need a more wind-proof layer outside.  Though it pains me to pay $18 or more for a pair of knee-socks, they work well with full-length bike tights or knickers.  On a cool fall rides I can feel the wind through polyester knickers, but not through my wool socks.

NEVER FORGET:  KNEE SOCKS WITH BIKE SHORTS
IS A FATAL FASHION FAUX PAS!

Try the ski and snow-board department for socks, gloves and glove-liners.  I've found Manzella Windstopper gloves are more rain-and-wind-resistant than any comparably priced cycling glove ($25-30).  I have several pairs of liner gloves for insulation, including cheap fuzzy-wuzzy grocery store gloves, and find they're warm enough for all but the worst Pacific Northwest winter storms.  If the gloves get soaked through or smelly, they can be rinsed and wrung out, then worn with a fresh, dry pair of liners, instead of taking days to dry, like thick padded gloves.

Cargo-net and shopping bag - With the movement to ban plastic grocery store shopping bags, carless people who need to buy only as much as they can carry, may need to carry their own bags at all times.  A cargo-net is a net about 18" square, made of elastic cord with hooks at the corners; it stretches over parcels and hooks on to a bike rack.  It's not so good for carrying bags of potato chips or loaves of bread, but will hold a couple of shopping bags securely on a rack, maybe with an extra bungee cord for safety.

No comments:

Post a Comment