Looking for a holiday present for the bike-riding loved ones in your life? Look no further. We’ve round up some suggestions for you, including the personal wish lists of some of our staff.

The ultimate gift of course is a new ride.  Reminder to support your local bike shop or a local frame maker when you consider buying a new bike.

Unfortunately, a new bike isn’t always in the budget, but Craigslist is a great place to look for new-to-you bikes and bike frames.

And you can always spruce up a bike with new components like wheels, a crankset, tires, stems, brakes, saddles or a seat post.

Ridings of comfort and joy:

Riding is most enjoyable when one is comfortable. Even on the coldest, wettest day of the year, a morning bike commute can still be pleasant with the right gear.

Some gift suggestions for the all-year rider:

Gloves, wool socks, neoprene booties, leg warmers, winter knickers, ear-warmers, wool base layers, long-sleeve jerseys, rain capes, vests, balaclavas, and cycling caps all make great gift items for bike commuters and racers alike.

Gadgets:

Who doesn’t like gadgets? From iPod mounts to portable speakers to GPS cyclocomputers, there are many fun and useful gadgets on the market.

Got a coffee addict in your family? Portland Design Works’ bar-ista cup holder attaches to the handlebars and keep any to-go-cup upright and in reach.

Green power: charge your electronic devices while you bike! Products like the BioLogic ReeCharge Power Pack are personal power systems that connect to a hub dynamo and can charge most any USB-chargeable device, including iPhones, iPods, cell phones, cameras or GPS units.

Never get lost again. Garmin makes some of the best GPS devices on the market and their GPS  cyclocomputer is no exception.

Gear:

Got a mountain biker in your life? How about some new pads, body armor, shin guards or shoes to keep them looking good and safe?

Helmets: Check out the many designs from Nutcase for style and protection. Stylish helmet covers are a fun way jazz up an otherwise dull helmet.

Fenders are a must-have item for any Northwest commuter. They come in various sizes and styles from hard plastic clip-ons to full bamboo mount-on fenders.

Bags and panniers: In Seattle, having a waterproof bag makes a huge difference. Ortlieb makes great utilitarian backs and panniers. And Seattle-based Detours US and Alchemy Goods make fashionable bags with Seattle flair.

BONUS: Cascade Bicycle Club members get a 25% discount at Detours US.

Light up your ride:

Lights are essential for riding at night or in the greyness of short rainy Northwest days. Moreover, light are required by law.  Lights come in many shapes, sizes, and colors.  There are powerful lights like the Sigma Sport Powerled Evo with an extreme light output of up to 900 lumens, while other lights like the MonkeyLectric spoke lights are fun and festive and make riders visible from the side.

BONUS: Cascade Bicycle Members get a discount when they order lights from BikeGlow.com.

Likewise, reflective gear is also available in many forms. From stylish reflective clothing to reflective stickers.

Take the kids (and the groceries)

Make biking a family activity with trail-along-bikes, cargo bikes, xtracycles, and child seats.

Love it and lock it

Protect the investment with a quality lock. Some locks, like the Hiplok, can even be worn as a belt.

Stocking stuffers:

Little things make a big difference: tire levers, patch kits, mini multi tools, socks, reflective leg bands, and bike seat covers would make great stocking stuffers.

Bikes are in fashion. You can now proudly display your loves of bicycling even when you’re not on your bike with bike art, jewelry out of bike chains, up-cycled  belts, innertube wallets and bags, and an infinite amount of items with bike motifs.

Pedal getaways:

Give the gift of adventure and memories. How about a mountain biking weekend in Bend, Oregon, or a bike tour of the Walla Walla wine country? Or a jungle adventure in Mexico? There many ways to explore other regions by bike. Cascade offers several kinds bike tours: Cascade-affiliated international tours, Cascade Club Tours and the annual Ride Around Washington. You can join us in faraway countries like Japan and India, or right here in the scenic Pacific Northwest and beyond.

Gift cards:

Don’t know what your biking loved-one needs? Get them a giftcard to your local bike shop and let them pick it out themselves.

Cascade staff wish lists:

Chuck Ayers, Executive Director:

If I’ve been really good:

• - 200 miles of world-class bike routes
• - A non-motorized facility on the 520 bridge – Portage Bay section
• - A world-class non-motorized facility connecting the eastside 520 bridge to Bellevue (Northup Way)
• - Conversion of the BNSF Eastside corridor into a rail-trail with a paved trail in the short- and mid-term and passenger rail with trail in the long-term (likely 20+ years out)
• - Financial support to refurbish Building 18 at Magnuson Park to create the NW Center for Bicycling

If I’ve been good:

• - Financial support for Cascade to hire a field organizer
• - Financial support for Cascade to hire a youth program coordinator to expand the Major Taylor Project, Trips for Kids, family biking and other programs

If I’ve been okay:

• - A new cyclocross bike
• - A winter make-over of my commuter bike
• - A new set of cross tires for my commuter
• - A new helmet
• - A summer weekend mountain bike get-away in the Methow Valley

If I’ve been bad:

• - Forgiveness

M.J. Kelly, Director of Communications and Marketing:

• - A stylish rain poncho. Top of the wishlist are the Cleverhood, a Rain Frog poncho, or an Iva Jean rain cape.
• - I’ve been drooling online over the EdgeRunner.
• - Fun, colorful lights to go with my Monkey Light, like the X-Fire bike lane light, the Blaze bike symbol light, or LED strips.
• - But what I want most of all is to see downtown cycletracks built in the very near future. I’m a confident, law-abiding bicyclist, and I hate riding a bike downtown. I don’t want to race buses, dodge taxis and jockey around speeding cars. Cycletracks, Santa baby, cycletracks.

Serena Lehman, Community Outreach Manager:

• - Coffee cup holder
• - Waterproof gloves
• - Firefly lights
• - A Haulin’ Colin flatbed trailer (for work)

Stephanie Frans, Commute Programs Manager:

• - Just one more sweater dress. Or two? Okay, three more would really do the job. This is my ultimate go-to piece of bike gear. They are dressy, but very bikeable because warm yet breathable. The knit fabric tends to shed light rain and even light road grit very well; stays on top of the knit and brushes off easily. Sweater dresses also lend themselves to tights and boots, also bike-friendly essentials.
• - Knog wrap blinkies for every part of my bike and body.
• - A brightly-colored, fashionable – but NOT bike-specific- wool coat.  For riding warmly but beautifully on those cold but beautiful days.
• - A gift card to Hub and Bespoke
• - Two-way reflective vest from Iva Jean
• - New neoprene booties….or another roll of duct tape

Max Hepp-Buchanan, Advocacy Campaigns Manager:

• - Anything from Rivbike, especially the bags section.
• - And the Surly website is good, too. I like the flask, personally.
• - Finally, these guys make some great stuff and it’s all Portland-chic: http://www.ridepdw.com

Robin Randels, Classes Coordinator:

• - Ibex base layers
• - Smartwool over-the-knee-socks
• - rain cape and rain pants that actually keep you dry!

Leah Pistorius, Communications Specialist:

• - Waterproof gloves
• - Reflective stuff
• - Rain jacket that is stylish and reflective, open to suggestions

Ryann Child, Americorps Intern:

• - Bicycle helmet ear warmers

This entry was posted on Monday, December 10th, 2012 at 11:55 am by Anne-Marije Rook and is filed under Commuting, Put a bike on it. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.