BEST DEFAULT GIFT:  DVD ‘Life Cycles,’ $29.95, for anyone in any size who has ever felt the magic of a bicycle as artifact, engineering feat, trusted steed, babe-magnet, alternative to fossil fuels, antidote for traffic, or modern pegasus.   (chosen by entire Criterium staff–preview at lifecyclesfilm.com.

ONE-OF-A-KIND:   for the person who has everything for bicycling, Chris Kuhn recommends a field-tested Garmin Edge 605 with local bike trails scouted, routed, and uploaded.  $349   This trail information is not available anywhere else, and took a lot of riding by Criterium staff members to compile and map!

MOST LOCAL GIFT:

SOS SOCKS from the Colorado Knitting Company support a Colorado manufacturer, and remind your friends how lucky you are to live here!    Recommended by Kay, the Colorado socks include all three styles shown here for $9.95, lightweight wool Colorado socks for $12, and a new 5″ bamboo sock with the Colorado logo for $9.95.

BEST GARAGE ACCESSORY:  Nic says that the workstands from Feedback Sports are nice enough to keep in the living room.  If your giftee doesn’t have a workstand, choose from two models — $160 and $199.  Or, for last-minute adjustments, Criterium sells a Kuat workstand that fits on your giftee’s car rack (about $100).

BEST ELECTRONIC GIFTS:    Aaron says that the Kinetic Computer for indoor trainers will make the winter, and your bike legs, go much faster.  The wired version at $80 shows watts, cadence, and calories burned.

John has chosen the VIS360 from as the best lighting system.

The photo shows exactly how small and light this helmet-mounted system is, but it remains big on light, with a headlight, taillight, and side-lights for safety.    $170

STOCKING STUFFERS:  In addition to socks, Criterium sells maps, blinky lights, kids’ gloves, bicycle bells, HammerGel energy products, and Sport Beans to motivate your riders to get out and ride bikes.

GREAT GIFT FROM GRANDPARENTS:  CamelBak hydration packs come in two sizes for children ($20-$30 or $45).  Criterium carries kids’ helmets from Bell and Specialized, about $40.

SANTA CLAUS SERVICES:  There are no finance charges on Christmas layaways, and we can store your gift bicycle until 2 p.m. on Christmas Eve.  We also offer S-Card financing through Specialized and CitiFinancial.

STILL READING?  Paul has a prize for customers who identify the item that does not fit in a normal Christmas stocking–find it in the suggested gift list at Specialized.com.

We are finishing up 2010 with a sense of thankfulness to our customers, suppliers, and families.   Our customers have found that the joy of cycling is the best antidote for elections, work,  lack of work, stress, and ennui.  They have been persistent in their search for new places to ride, better ways to stay fit, and faster finish times in competition.  They understand the concept of preventive maintenance, and they care about their bike’s fitness as well as their own.

We are grateful to our suppliers for a continuing stream of innovative products.  The suppliers have worked heroically to get the best value for the American dollar in a world market that is skeptical of its value.    Our suppliers have by-passsed the corporate behemoths to work with 6000 small businesses in the US every day–our country’s local bike shops.

The Criterium family continues to grow and prosper.    Children and grandchildren field-test our Hotrocks and the Kidz Tandem from Brown Cycles.  Our high school and college students provide great service here while studying mechanics, economics, cartography, and fire science.  Our competitors have done well this year.  Nic has qualified for the Triathlon world championships in 2011.  Joe has moved up on the downhill race circuit.  Jose’s father was elected Colorado’s Lt. Governor.

Tim Watkins has gained a foothold in Monument with Criterium’s Monument Ride Center.  We are trying something a little different there, with guided rides and on-bike riding classes.   It’s time to help our customers find new trails to explore.  Tim is also our advocacy director, working with picks, shovels, and bureaucrats to make riding a little bit better every day.

That’s our news!   Come by the shop to tell us about your season’s riding adventures.  We finally have enough time to listen to your story.  And, some days, we bake cookies, too.

Yes, we are open regular hours every day except Thursday, Thanksgiving Day.

–Kay, Nic, Ben, Michael, Paul, Aaron, Chris, Tim, John, Jose, Joe, and Bob

Dennis Korth from Manitou Springs called us a few months ago, looking for a ‘circus bike.’  Aaron listened to his plans, and recommended one of our 16″ Fuse BMX bikes.

Dennis  has modified his Fuse with a comfy seat and higher bars.  He carries it on his VW bug when he goes to car shows, and rides it around there instead of walking.

Next?   Dennis is looking for an even taller handlebar that keeps the BMX style of his new bike.  If you are a youngster, you may not recognize the cylinder in the window–it’s an evaporative cooler.