Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - What'd you all get for Xmas?

Well.... what did you get for Christmas?

This was my first Christmas as a cyclist so I got a slot of cycling gear.

http://images.quickblogcast.com/66955-58629/ridesmallweb.jpg
I'm sporting my new scull cap and cycling tights. It wasn't quite cool enough to need them on my little Christmas morning ride, but I had to try them out.

http://images.quickblogcast.com/66955-58629/gifts.jpg (http://images.quickblogcast.com/66955-58629/gifts.jpg)
I also got some winter gloves, a bunch of energy bars, a water bottle, a couple pairs of socks and 2 gift cards which went toward purchasing 2 pairs of cycling shorts and a vest.

http://images.quickblogcast.com/66955-58629/camera.jpg
Lastly I got a camera to take with me on rides. I was tired of my camera phone pics.

So what kind of cycling gear did you get?

A new set of handlebars. Here is a pic of the bike with the new bars fitted but without anything installed in my workshop, aka office:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_DsgP5ZCCUco/SVURJFWj3aI/AAAAAAAAARA/D-7122k5_QY/s800/100_0296.JPG
The turquoise neoprene sleeve is to retain the cables. I have to run all new cables since this adds an extra 16" or so of length to shift and brake! If you look close you can see the stock bars hanging down.

My Christmas Swag:
Terry Fly Gel saddle, Ultegra compact crankset, Cateye Strada computer, inexpensve but I think decent light set, Topeak seatpost travel pack thingie (that I may return to LBS) , along with assorted gels, nutritional aids and personal lubricants! ;)

Only thing I got was "robbed" by a bunch of little kids!:p


BUNCH OF BANDITS!:mad:
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x24/FredandGina/122508J.jpg

For those who were dreaming of a white Christmas here you go. We got another 10 inches for Christmas. I heard we are up to 48 inches for the month, which is a record (oh yeah).

Hey, MrBeanz if you put all those bandits in a bag, would you have a "bean bag"? Sorry, I guess I'm getting a little cooped up.

Good one!:thumb:

I got some nice stuff for the bike from my wife and kids - they seem to be fully supporting me in my quest to get slim through biking :) . A cateye light combo (el220 headlight and the 270R tail light). An airzounds horn. A planet bike dial tire pressure gauge and a Garmin edge 305 plus a mirror.

The cateye headlight replaces a cheap schwinn that I'll keep as a backup. I left a cheap schwinn led flasher on the seatpost and mounted the cateye tail light to my helmet for better rearward coverage.

My extended family does a name out of a bag thing where you only buy/receive one gift but its got a $150 limit. My gift this year was a really nice cashmere sweater and some cashmere socks from Nordstroms - unfortunately it's not my style - I'm more of a jeans and tshirt guy when I'm not in a suit for work. Anyway Nordstroms has a ridiculous return policy and I got back cash so I'll be picking up some Continental Sport Contacts or Richey Tom slicks for my MTB since all of my riding is on the road.

In the meantime with the cash I stopped in Dicks Sporting Goods and found a Northface M Amp Hybrid Jacket in Sunburst Yellow in my size on the clearance rack for $40! It's pretty reflective and is water resistant and is supposed to breathe. I'll find out tomorrow hopefully.

Here's a link to the jacket at cabelas cabelas Northface Amp Jacket (http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0043691922894a&type=product&cmCat=froogle&cm_ven=data_feed&cm_cat=froogle&cm_pla=0141101&cm_ite=0043691922894a) if you have a Dicks sporting goods near you it may be worthwhile to check it out. It was on a rack near the camping section marked "clearance" with an oddball assortment of tshirts, button down shirts, pullovers, etc.

I didn't receive any gifts from others, but I bought something for myself. A Brooks B17 for my Giant Cypress, and a new seatpost to replace the suspension one it came with.

Got a pair of bib tights, jersey, and socks

I got some nice stuff for the bike from my wife and kids - they seem to be fully supporting me in my quest to get slim through biking :) . A cateye light combo (el220 headlight and the 270R tail light). An airzounds horn. A planet bike dial tire pressure gauge and a Garmin edge 305 plus a mirror.

As a gadget nerd, I absolutely LOVE my Garmin. I can't imagine going back to the computer I had before! I hope you enjoy yours.

As a gadget nerd, I absolutely LOVE my Garmin. I can't imagine going back to the computer I had before! I hope you enjoy yours.

I spent part of today mounting it along with the cadence sensor and testing the heart rate monitor. I can't wait until tomorrow to capture a ride.

Do you download your workout to the Garmin Training Center or some other application like motionbased?

Nothing:(

Hasn't been a kind year to me.

^same... well my pops got me a bottle of cologne.

He had asked me what I thought of it in the store "for my brother." I told him "I would never wear this, it smells terrible, but maybe Chris would like it" and so I was pretty surprised when it was under the tree for me lol

I had a really good Christmas this year.
I got a semi-suprise visit from my Mom.....called on a Sunday...flew out on a Thurs. This was 2 weeks agao, but still a awesome suprise!!! She stayed 4 days!

While she was here, she invented in a Toshiba laptop with wireless router, mini mouse and cooling pad
4gig ram, 320gig HD, Pentium Duo Core II, 14in screen, and the big do-do warranty!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads14/IMG_03931230346534.jpg

She also paid for my first ever college class and the needed book.....The gift of education. Hopefully this is the start of a "second life" to a Nursing career or beyond.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads14/IMG_03921230346512.jpg


Also got a digital photo frame, and some decor for the house.

This was truly a extraordinary Christmas for us.

Got a set of wheels for the single speed I am building.

Aside from my new road bike that arrived a week or so early
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3268/3103869756_1e8d3dffd8.jpg
I got a long-sleeve jersey, full-finger gloves, 2 pair of cycling socks, multi-tool, cyclocomputer for my commuter, patch kit and $50 Performance Bicycle gift card.

Got a nice Polar Jersey, a fleece jacket and a light set from performance, a couple cds a dvd, 30 years of garfield book and a nice warm robe which Im wearing right now!...and more snow..


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The good lady wife gave me a Garmin 305 Edge (lots of fun, first ride with it today showed me 2800ft of climbing and a very scary set of graphs with my heartrate!).

I gave myself (!) all the parts needed to build a new set of wheels AND a wheel truing stand. I'm going to be going insane for the next month learning how to tension spokes...

http://img357.imageshack.us/img357/6885/christmasoh1.jpg

New zoom lens for my D40
Air Hogs RC Helicopter (still like getting toys)
The Last Lecture
Clemson Football Gator Bowl Shirt
Candy

Aside from my new road bike that arrived a week or so early
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3268/3103869756_1e8d3dffd8.jpg
I got a long-sleeve jersey, full-finger gloves, 2 pair of cycling socks, multi-tool, cyclocomputer for my commuter, patch kit and $50 Performance Bicycle gift card.


What model is that??? My ride partner/neighbor has a Fuji Pro and loves it!!!!
Good Lookin bike!!!

One of my BFFs decided I needed two tires and tubes for my bike. But they're not what I have on my bike, so we took that stuff back and I came home with a helmet I can put my Washington Capitals stickers on and the rest in a GC I can use later.

I got myself a Secolo II jacket from Performance and a set of thermal bib tights from Nashbar ( of course it's been warm here ever since). Also some dlipless pedals and shoes.

I spent part of today mounting it along with the cadence sensor and testing the heart rate monitor. I can't wait until tomorrow to capture a ride.

Do you download your workout to the Garmin Training Center or some other application like motionbased?

I use the Garmin Training Center. I also use trailguru.com because they allow you to embed your rides into web pages. I like to add the maps to my blog. bikeroutetoaster.com is cool because it allows you to map rides and upload them to the garmin. It'll alert you to when you need to turn.

100 oz Camelbak. Now I can go on longer MTB rides and not worry about running out of fluids. Not sure if I would use it on a road ride.

Well, the wife decided it was best to sit down with me and let me surf for deals for some gear. I ended up with:

Tights
Rain Jacket
Livestrong Wind Jacket
headset
Sella San Marco seat for the project frameset

From the kids I got:
wool riding socks
winter full finger gloves
multi tool
balacava
lots of energy bars, goo packets, and drink mix

The big score was a Garmin Legend HCx. Not exactly bike specific like a 305 so it doesn't do heart rate or cadence, but it also came with City Maps. I decided the navigation and auto routing was a better feature than a constant beepiong telling me my heart was about to explode!

Pretty much the coolest Chritmas I've had in awhile. I expect the Feb b-day will be minimalist and I'm perfectly ok with that, lol.

Aside from the early present that I bought myself I got a nifty Schwinn water bottle, a 12 function Schwinn bike computer, and a Batman shirt from Casual Male XL(I love this store BTW). The rest was pretty much the usual stuff, socks, more shirts, sweat pants, and smell good stuff.

My bike, a FatCyclist.com jersey and bib set.

About 230 bucks total gift card to LBS. Which i then used to purchase new saddle, floor pump, gloves, co2 inflator and cartridges, and saddle bag. The lbs is a specialized dealer and all their stuff was 20% off so i got some real good deals.

Also got a $50.00 gift card to nashbar so i bought a jersey shorts a couple pairs of socks and more tubes from there. I basically hit up there clearance area.

Got a parktool multitool to replace that leatherman I've been caring in my seat pack and a new computer, thanks Mrs. Bautieri!!

What model is that??? My ride partner/neighbor has a Fuji Pro and loves it!!!!
Good Lookin bike!!!

Thanks. It's an '08 Fuji Roubaix RC. I'm really liking it.

Being single, friendless, and not having relations means I don't need to shop for others, but in return no one buys me anything. :( So I followed suggestions from CliftonGK1 and JBoyd, and purchased all-terrain hiking poles for myself. They are cheap ones from Target, which should do the job for the amount of hiking I do. (If they can stretch my current four mile max to five, I'll be happy.)

I also ordered a couple of books from Amazon on the Underground Railroad in PA. It turns out my town was a stop. Emmor Kimber operated a boarding school for girls in the village that eventually bore his name, and he sheltered escaped slaves in the basement. (You can see a painting of what Kimberton may have looked like at the time here:

http://www.kimbertoninn.com/kimberton_05.asp

The boarding school/Underground Railroad stop is the big brick building at the top of the crossroads.) How does this history relate to bicycling, you may ask? Two words - BIKE TOUR! Why not trace an UR route?

I didn't get anything bike related this year.

But I did get a 32Gb ipod touch from my husband, my best friend gave me a Toronto FC baseball cap along with a Little Britain DVD (that I have to exchange next week because I already have it) and some other neat things. I don't know what my mother bought for me because she has the flu and I have to wait until she feels better.

I followed suggestions from CliftonGK1 and JBoyd, and purchased all-terrain hiking poles for myself. They are cheap ones from Target, which should do the job for the amount of hiking I do. (If they can stretch my current four mile max to five, I'll be happy.)
A word of caution. We bought the inexpensive poles and they work great but we had problems with the baskets unscrewing themselves and falling off during hikes. Fortunately, it happened on the outward leg of a hike and we found them on the return leg. I have since "Goop"ed them on and that took care of the problem. Good luck and happy hiking.

A word of caution. We bought the inexpensive poles and they work great but we had problems with the baskets unscrewing themselves and falling off during hikes. Fortunately, it happened on the outward leg of a hike and we found them on the return leg. I have since "Goop"ed them on and that took care of the problem. Good luck and happy hiking.

No baskets on these, so I hope to avoid that problem. :)

My husband ordered me a Burley Cargo trailer for touring and a set of tires that I asked for. The tires didn't work out. Marathon Plus just about KILLS me. So, for an additional Christmas present, he's being a sweetheart and not fussing about now needing to buy me another set of tires. :p

I'm also going to be a sap and share the story of my favorite Christmas cycling gift ever. It's been one that has just kept on giving for a number of years now. My father did the usual call and ask, 'Anything you want this year?" and I'd just discovered recumbents. It was December '05 I think. I was obsessed with the idea since I hadn't been able to ride a bike in more than 5 years because of a bad back and I loved biking. My answer was that I would have to think about it, but the only thing that immediately came to mind was hideously expensive. He insisted that I at least tell him what it was and how much. Long silence over the line before a 'Hmm, yeah, that's a chunk. Let me know if you think of anything else.':lol:

I told him of course, and went back to surfing the web to see how much the tadpole trike of my needs and dreams would cost. A couple hours later, my dad called back with, 'I thought about it and if it's something you really want, find one, test it and then we'll talk.'

So, I found that the Trice QN-T was probably the best fit for what I wanted. The weight range was right and it still had a folding function and narrow enough between the front tires to fit through the doors of the apartment. It was one of the more pricey models, but if I couldn't maneuver it in and out of the apartment or put it in the car, a cheaper wasn't going to do me any good. I discovered there were none locally in Sweden, either dealers or customers, so I asked the manufacturer if I could try one out if I came over. The answer was a very firm, 'We'd be happy to see you!'.

April '06, my husband and I flew over to England (from Sweden). We made a week long road tour of it, stopping by the company in the middle of it and trying out a pair of their trikes. I was hooked before I even made it out of the parking lot, let alone after an hour.

When I told my father, he told me to order what I wanted and make the arrangements for the company to call him for his credit card info for payment. I received the trike in July.

Since then, every time my father has called and asked his birthday and Christmas question, I've answered, 'I'm still getting it!' I love being able to get out and pedal again. It's improved my health physically and I find I'm less down and grouchy now that I have a way to cycle again and is pain-free.

Okay, sappy cycle Christmas tale done. :o :lol:

From me to myself a schwinn peloton road bike

From my family I got a trainer, wheel block, training mat, some new bottle cages and a new mini tool

that's about it for the bicycle related gifts I got this year.

Here's the most useful gifts we got for Christmas....

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o260/TomStormcrowe/Christmas_2008002.jpg
Down filled and good to -70
and real Wolf Fur at the hood

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o260/TomStormcrowe/Christmas_2008001.jpg

and the wife's new coat.

We're both now ready for the slopes. :D

The bike Ive been riding for a month + LOL (Fuji Absolute 4.0)
Post mounted Rack
Trunk Bag
Mud Flaps
Balaclava
gloves

Non-bike stuff:
Wii Play
clothes
hockey cards
a few star wars figures (yes, I am 34 years old. they're for my future children *wink*)
cookbooks

I got what I've been looking forward to:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3266/3151707024_e15a70c733.jpg
Specialized Road Comp shoes. Nice!
Also got a long sleeve jersey, a seat post mounted dual water bottle cage, and a pair of yellow biking socks ("Because you don't have any socks that match your yellow jersey.").

I got a Computrainer....and a headache from setting it up and configuring the software.

A snowstorm, and a 30' twin-hook 20,000 pound strength rescue strap for my Jeep.

Nothing bicycle related, but I gotta say that the rescue strap has come in handy the past couple weeks. I've pulled at least a dozen cars out of the snow.



(man, are people ever gonna be mad when they come looking for them.)

Being single, friendless, and not having relations means I don't need to shop for others, but in return no one buys me anything. :( So I followed suggestions from CliftonGK1 and JBoyd, and purchased all-terrain hiking poles for myself. They are cheap ones from Target, which should do the job for the amount of hiking I do. (If they can stretch my current four mile max to five, I'll be happy.)

I also ordered a couple of books from Amazon on the Underground Railroad in PA. It turns out my town was a stop. Emmor Kimber operated a boarding school for girls in the village that eventually bore his name, and he sheltered escaped slaves in the basement. (You can see a painting of what Kimberton may have looked like at the time here:

http://www.kimbertoninn.com/kimberton_05.asp

The boarding school/Underground Railroad stop is the big brick building at the top of the crossroads.) How does this history relate to bicycling, you may ask? Two words - BIKE TOUR! Why not trace an UR route?

Neil, the work has already been done tracing the UR route.

http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/undergroundrailroad.cfm

Looks like a cool ride, and it's broken up into segments.

Neil, the work has already been done tracing the UR route.

http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/undergroundrailroad.cfm

Looks like a cool ride, and it's broken up into segments.

The UR had many 'trunk lines'. There were three main routes to freedom; Adventure Cycling's only traces one. The other two were the Eastern Route, passing through Philadelphia to New Jersey, New York City, New England, and Canada, and the Western route up the Mississippi and across IL to Chicago.

Locally, which is the route I planned on tracing, 'passengers' were routed from Wilmington, DE (Delaware was a slave state) across the border to any number of Quaker 'stations' in Chester County. (One of the local 'conductors' was "Moses" - Harriet Tubman.) There were three of them located within five miles of my home. From here the runaways were sent into Phoenixville, then into Philadelphia, or onto Reading for a trip on a real railroad, the Reading RR to upstate PA and over the border into NY.

I don't plan on following a UR route into Canada, but a two or three day tour is doable.

I didn't even think about the different tributaries. DOH.

I seem to be getting more into the 2 to 3 day tour idea. I just don't have the time to take weeks on end to tour. I wish I did, but I don't.

If I take a couple of weeks I could tour once a year, I would have one week of vacation time left to dedicate to family stuff. With taking a three day weekend I can do tons of regional stuff.

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Parks PCS-9
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff168/cyclearkansas/pcs-9.jpg
and some winter bike socks:thumb:.

Hmmm, I spent the days before Christmas in Key West where is was 80+ and after Christmas visiting family in northern MN where it is -30 this morning and about 3 feet of snow on the ground....but waiting for me back home are a Garmin Edge 305 w/cadence and chest strap, 2 new PI Ultrasensor Bib Shorts - first new shorts in a few years since I rotate them and get a lot of wear, and several pair of new cycling socks...now, what to get next...

Happy late Christmas to me! This morning on my way to work I found a Trek 400 and a Schwinn Woodlands propped up against the trash heap. (the snowstorm has put trash collection behind by 2 weeks up here.) Good thing for that, since it means these bikes were easily seen instead of hidden away in the alcove where the dumpsters are.

I didn't get a chance to really look at them, I just put them in my garage. From what I could tell, they're in good working order. They might be a bit small for me, but even if that's the case I'll fix them up and CL 'em for $25.

Cool find Clifton.

I have no problems rescuing bikes from being scrapped. I sometimes CL a bike and I also have given a couple away to folks who wanted to ride and didn't have a bike. I just ask that they return it if they give up, or pass it on to someone else in need if they feel so inclined.

So far I haven't seen a give-a-way bike on CL so I'm happy about that.

JTGYK, myself, and few other Dallas area BF'ers are trying to start a co-op so any finds I come across from now on will go that direction. I have to be honest and include any Italian or exotic finds I ever come across will find themselves donated to my garage, lol.