A good Christmas gift needn’t break the bank – so here, in part six of RCUK’s Christmas Gift Guide series, are six cycling stocking fillers for your wish list.
Or, if you’re still stuck for inspiration, check out our guides for gifts for when money is no object, under £200, under £50, cycling books and casual cycling clothing.
The Srampagmano Tales by Scarlett Parker – £6.99
The Srampagmano Tales, available to purchase on www.lulu.com or Amazon, follows a group of cyclists on their annual pilgrimage from London to Brighton. Representing a wide cross-section of riders, they each share a tale of their own time spent in the saddle.
We’ve had a copy land on the desk at RoadCyclingUK and, written in the style of Chaucer, it’s a witty, easy-to-read tale, with some excellent sketches to boot.
Prendas Les Mémoires du Peloton 2013 calendar – £9.95
The Les Mémoires du Peloton is a calendar produced every year by online retailer Prendas. They love all things retro and the calendar features stunning photographs from the archive of long-time cycling photographer John Pierce.
However, considering the current success of British riders, the 2013 calendar features a couple of photographs from recent seasons, including the cover shot of Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish on the final stage of this year’s Tour de France.
But fear not, there’s still plenty of old photographs, including shots of Patrick Sercu, Francesco Moser, Fausto Coppi, Luis Herrera, Tom Simpson, Eddy Merckx and Jacques Anquetil.
Endura BaaBaa Merino winter socks – £9.99
There’s little worse than frosty toes on a cold ride and the first line of defence is a good pair of winter socks.
Endura are based in Scotland, so they should know a thing or two about cold weather. These socks are made from merino wool, so they’re warm and soft, and they’re not too thick, so you still get a good amount of feel between your foot and the pedal. The arch offers a good amount of support, too.
One23 compact MT-F8 multi-tool – £13.99
This multi-tool from One23 is tiny, thanks to the fact that it can fold it half, and will take up barely any room in your saddlepack or jersey pocket if space is at a premium.
It’s not the most comprehensive multi-tool out there, but it’s got what you need for quick on-the-go repairs: 2/4/5/6mm Allen keys, a cross-head screwdriver, straight-head screwdriver and a Torx T25.
Assos Pantofel slippers – £16.99
Assos slippers, whatever next? Slippers are a Christmas favourite, however, and these look just the ticket for relaxing in after a hard training ride.
They come in classic Assos black and white, and are available in one size. Warning: these slippers will not make you go faster on the bike!
Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong by David Walsh – £18.99 (widely available for less)
As early as Lance Armstrong’s first Tour de France victory in 1999, Sunday Times journalist David Walsh had reason to doubt what he was seeing was too good to be true. Walsh set about exposing the truth with French sports journalist Pierre Ballester and in 2004 the duo published (in France only) L.A. Confidentiel: Les secrets de Lance Armstrong.
Armstrong went on to paint Walsh as a liar, and even filed a lawsuit against the Irishman, but Walsh was finally vindicated by the publication of the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s 1000-page ‘reasoned decision’ dossier earlier this year. Seven Deadly Sins is the story of Walsh’s battle to expose Armstrong.
