What did you give or receive?

My wife got me a Calfee DIY bamboo kit. Or a voucher, anyhow, she said she wanted me to suss out the options. She also got me spoke lights, and some Kickstarter turn signal gloves. She was very unsure about the latter... I'm just not sure if they're needful or convenient enough to actually use. She wasn't sure either, was offering exchange even before I opened it. This makes me feel guilty and I might keep them!

I got her a pretty bell from PDW that goes on a headset spacer.

Race Face Chester pedals.

I got a rubber band smartphone holder. I'm not sure where I'm going to put it either as I'm out of room as it is now.

On your smartphone, obvs! Unless you have a lot of apps and videos and it's out of room, too.

A couple years ago my MIL got me an iPhone holder - a nice one really, but phones go obsolete too fast and I didn't want it on my handlebars. I put it on my least-used bike for plausible deniability.

I got a bottle of Lagavulin 16, which isn't really cycling related, but there is no other material gift that makes me happier!

I gave myself a gift of a tour down the Big Sur coast from San Francisco. Beautiful weather, but chilly at night for camping.

From my brother!

That's a great gift! How very thoughtful of you.

Nothing bike-related, but got some socks that I can probably wear at some point while riding a bike. I've exceeded my cycling budget for the year already, so I'll have to wait a week to give myself stuff.

I was out shopping with the family yesterday and we went to REI. I have been looking for some light weight mittens to replace a favorite pair I have that are pretty worn out. Something good for the 30s-40s we get a lot of. I looked at REI before, but this time I found them!


Simple, not insulated, but with Polartech Windbloc and even has touch screen compatible fingertip. It was too warm to use them today, but soon enough I'll get to try them out.

My family combined efforts and got me an Apple Watch. It's built in fitness app is pretty decent for tracking miles, speed, route, etc. It doesn't do elevation changes. It works for swimming and running as well as cycling.

It rained all day Christmas (boo) and the roads were still pretty icy in places today. So with the ice and the studded tires I averaged all of 10 mph. Looking forward to warmer weather and faster times.

This is not meant to be a recommendation of this particular product. I would have never bought it for myself but since I have an iPhone and the battery recently died on my beloved Citizen dive watch, it was a timely gift that I appreciate. Last time I replaced the battery on the dive watch it cost me $100 because no place local will touch it. The place I sent it to advertised $25 battery replacements but then wanted another $50 to guarantee water resistance once they got it. The crystal had a small nick on one edge that they claimed made it leak (BS). It took 3 months and between the actual repair costs and shipping both ways, I was out $100. Barely two years later, the battery is dead again.

So, I'll be sporting an Apple watch until it dies. Then I'm not sure what.

I got for my 12 yr old a dynamo wheel and light set. Unfortunately it's a fork crown light and I hadn't realized that her suspension fork won't work with that, so I am hoping a handlebar mount will arrive before she is back at school next Tuesday.

I didn't 'charge' the wheel and light set to either her bday (24th) or xmas 'account'.

SWMBO agreed to exchange the turn signal gloves for the full-finger version. I need to send an email to Calfee to figure out the options for my bamboo frame!

Incredible part of the country. My parents moved to Pescadero and Half Moon Bay(im guessing you road thru there) during my college years and every time I went 'home' for visits it was to a place with neverending opportunity to explore.
SF down thru Santa Cruz, past Carmel, and into Big Sur is some idyllic riding for sure.

True that Apple Workout app won't track elevation, but if you use MapMyRide or Strava (or some others) they will. It will be GPS-based elevation, so not super accurate, but it's something. Many will also feed their data into the Activity app so you get all the credits for your circles.

I got a new wind jacket for my commutes (thanks to a performance bike gift certificate from my sister), new set of hex wrenches (bondhus), and a tool tray for my feedback sports workstand.

A friend is also letting me long-term borrow his 27.5" XC bike so I can start getting ready for Prairie City and work on my atrocious handling skills so next year's cyclocross season will be more enjoyable.

It's hard to describe how beautiful the area is. So different than the east coast. I had driven the route before, but you see 10 times more on a bike. It is quite physically challenging with all the climbing and descending. I lucked out with the weather hitting the ride just after a heavy storm and ending before the rain started up again. Apparently the week before Christmas is pretty quiet for tourism in the area, so not much of a challenge finding open campgrounds and fairly empty hotels.

I bought myself a bike related gift: Salsa Cowbell handlebars from a fellow Forum member. Should be arriving in the mail tomorrow.

Got another bike and lots of stuff earlier this year. Cup reads "All I need is this bicycle .. and that other bicycle and those bicycles over there and th bicycles in the other room, and ..."

Thanks, my commute is pretty flat anyway and during the winter I'm more concerned about staying upright than I am about personal bests. I also don't do much recreational riding this time of year.

I will start looking into 3rd party apps in the Spring. I think I still have cyclemeter on my phone but haven't used it in awhile. Eventually, I'd like to get a cadence sensor that will be compatible.

https://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/...5FCA20B489.jpg

Did the Big Sur ride a few years ago. It was awesome! Enjoy...I hope you can do the Central Coast and wine country, too.

Sometimes the most obvious answers are the ones hardest to see!

Only bike-related thing I got were these DZR normal-looking cycling shoes, and I LOVE 'em! Finally got around to installing cleats last night and today is their first day. I can ride in cleats, still look normal off the bike and don't have to pack a change of shoes and do my Mr. Rogers-esque-shoe-change routine when I get to work. (for those of us old enough to remember Mr. Rogers )

I've had a frustrating email exchange with a salesman at Calfee, I have asked him a technical question about geometry and tire clearance three different ways and he keeps responding with what looks like ad copy. Paraphrased:
Those are nice! Wish I'd seen them before Christmas in order to ask for them. They'd go great with my Levis commuter jeans. I find I do the Mr. Rogers routine much more in the summer.

I only asked for bike stuff this year, was sooooo stoked with what I got!!!

3 Athletic Socks from their Grab Bag, was really happy with the patterns and the socks, never had a pair before

all of the Park tool Spoke wrenches, trying to learn how to true my own wheels.

GoreTex Bike Cap, pretty sweet haven’t had a chance to use it yet but it has some cool reflective details.

Schwalbe Marathon Winter Studded Tires

Shimano Mw-7 Gore-Tex MTB shoes (Birthday/Christmas present)

AND

These shoe warmers because every person deserves warm feet shoe warmers