The Davis Enterprise: Dec. 1, 2008 Davis Bicycles! column #003

Title: Enjoy velo holidays

Holiday gift ideas are about to flow. Your ideas will be tailored for each person on your list. Your gifts will be locally purchased, promote exercise and outdoor activity, and serve up clean transportation with free and convenient parking. Completion of your holiday shopping is within reach.

We are talking about the gift that keeps one biking: the velo-based "missing link" that will propel your gift recipients to enjoy biking still more. Some sly research is required. You'll need to call a friend or design a conversation that teases out your target's secret biking wish or dream, or both. Once you know this, you will be good to go.

"I wish I didn't have to shoo walkers out of my way." A bell. "I'd shop more by bike if I had better baskets." Get some big sturdy baskets and a bungee or two, or go all the way and get an Xtracycle extender to achieve the SUV of bikes. "I always forget the key to my lock." Voila, a combination lock. "My seat's thrashed." "I need more pieces of Flair." Include the promise of installation as a garnish.

Importantly, the giftor's wants can't be too transparently imposed on the giftee. Getting overly utilitarian at the holidays does have a downside. My friend Tim is regularly given a Standing In role by Mr. Dunning. He insightfully exposed Alphabet Moon for selling crafts disguised as toys. So make sure your motives aren't too transparent. Mistakes here can last a lifetime. Not a holiday season passes in my family without mention of my mom giving my dad a fertilizer spreader for Christmas. Ouch. Here, the crossover gift may be your solution.

Crossover gift? Nice pair of medium-weight gloves. "I bet those would also keep your hands warm for biking on cold mornings." Cool new backpack just for sports stuff. "Oh, and come to think of it, you can use that to ride to badminton practice." Skateboard helmet. "It works as a bike helmet, too." Clip-on bike light. "It's a great flashlight to have handy, and it came with mount for your bike, too." 'Nuff said.

Coupled with the crossover theme, this holiday tip is open to abuse. Say another member of your family reads this column and has motives less pure than yours? Beware when you hear them talk about that parka they want from Outdoor Davis, with the final artful addendum: "You know, that's also what I need to bike in the rain." Disingenuous? Yes. But you have what you need; run with it, and then make sure they don't use a drizzle to cancel a ride.

Another path to finding the unique bike need is to look at other bikes. In a bike shop, on campus or at the Co-op, stop and look at a bike and ask why it is the way it is? There's an idea behind every customized bike. See if those ideas might fit the person on your list.

Detroit has the Big Three. Davis has its Big Four. Chat up the sales folks at Freewheeler, Wheelworks, B&L and Ken's and they'll have a custom response to your biker's need or dream. Don't forget the other shops. The Davis Bike Exchange (Fifth and L streets) has rebuilt and vintage bikes, and adds the element of recycling. APEX Cycles at 117 D St. can reincarnate that old road bike in the garage into a hip single-speed! The Bike Barn on campus is a quick gift stop on the Davis Bike Loop.

And if you are wondering, yes, I think my family knows what's coming.

Joe Krovoza volunteers for Davis Bicycles! and helps organize this column. To submit a column or suggest an idea, write to column@davisbicycles.org