Treat the active senior on your shopping list this holiday season with gifts that promote physical health and mental well-being. Here are some suggestions from some local traders:

Electric bikes

Cycling is a sport enjoyed by older people, and there is a wide range of bikes available – from road and mountain bikes to commuter and touring bikes. There are also recumbent bikes and even adult tricycles. But the most interesting bike that we have found in a local store is the electric bike.

These e-bikes are similar to traditional bikes, but they have motor-powered levels of assistance to help you get up a hill or give you a boost when needed.

During a recent visit to Blue Ridge Bicycles in Winchester, store clerk Kris Ridgley pointed out the four power levels of a Specialized branded electric bike the store sells.

“As you pedal you can click and see the different levels… so this level means I’m just riding it like an unassisted bike… it’s a small amount of level that feels like someone is helping, pushing you along. This one, you will feel like you are almost running as you pedal. This one is like you’re really running.

Bikes sold in the United States, he said, peak at 20 miles an hour. The average price of an electric bike: around $ 3,000 to $ 4,000.

“I find e-bikes to be very popular with the older population, in part because people who still want to ride or even get back in shape – they’ve had an operation and want to get back in shape after an operation or whatever. type of recovery – it’s still riding a bike. You just get a lot of extra help so that people who might have a hard time going up a hill can now ride much easier. You’re still pedaling, you’re still doing this exercise, ”he said.

The closed motor of the Specialized electric bicycle is recharged by plugging it into a wall outlet.

“Typically, e-bikes will have a range of 80 miles, depending on what mode you ride,” he said.

Blue Ridge Bicycles offers a variety of bikes, gear and clothing, and bike repairs. Gift certificates and financing are available. The owner is Robert Golightly.

Blue Ridge Bikes

2228 Papermill Road, Winchester

540-662-1510

The Web: www.blueridgebicycles.com

Hiking gear

What is useful when hiking the trails in Sherando Park or part of the Appalachian Trail through Shenandoah National Park? Garry Green, the owner of Mountain Trails stores in Front Royal and Winchester, gave some tips on some basic hiking gear that will benefit seniors.

“Over the past year, COVID has blown this industry up. The biggest category (in sales) last year: shoes, backpacks and trekking poles, ”he said.

Mountain Trails offers quality footwear for outdoor adventures as well as the backpacks needed to hold keys, snacks and other personal items while hiking. But what we were looking for was something to keep us balanced and help us up a hill. Trekking poles are much like the first level of an electric bike – they will help you up and down a hill, increase your walking speed, and keep you steady when crossing a stream.

For beginners, Green recommends a brand he offers – Kelty, at $ 39.95. There are more expensive poles made of carbon fiber and other materials, he said, but the functionality doesn’t change. Additionally, some people prefer to use a single post rather than two. One monopod he carries is a Leki Swiss stick. It has a cane-shaped handle and is fully adjustable. And for those who want to get on a plane and take their hiking poles with you, some models can be broken down to fit in the luggage.

Green noted that he has seen more people over the age of 60 engage in hiking, which he described as healthy and spiritual. Maybe, he said, maybe haven’t been so adventurous in their life and turned to hiking for recreation.

Mountain Trails in Winchester is located downtown on Loudoun Street Mall. In addition to hiking gear, the store has a variety of clothing, shoes, socks, coats, tents, gear, gear, and maps.

The Front Royal store has similar merchandise and is also a base camp for Appalachian Trail hikers, providing them with a place to shower and wash their clothes as well as lockers to store their belongings while visiting the city.

Mountain trails

115 N. Loudoun Street, Winchester

540-667-0030

Mountain trails

120 E. Main St., Front Royal

540-749-2470

The Web: www.mountain-trails.com

Archery sets

Archery is good for both mind and body – concentration is needed to hit this target, and archery strengthens your upper body. If there are any potential archers on your shopping list, visit Shenandoah Sporting Goods in Toms Brook.

Store clerk Mike Smoot recommends a bow pack for around $ 600 for a beginner. “It comes with everything they need to shoot a target, and they would need a target, of course, and then, I mean from there, it’s just learning.”

The store has an indoor shooting range where anyone new to archery would learn how to use it, he said.

“The guy we have here, his name is Jordan. He is one of the best in the region. He knows everything about a bow, ”said Smoot.

“It’s a 20-meter range,” he said, pointing the target at the end of the range. “So when they get out of here, 20 yards away, they’ll hit the target.”

The range, he added, is available to the public for $ 8 per day.

In addition to guns and hunting equipment, the store offers different types of bows, arrows, accessories and targets for amateur archers as well as those who use bows for hunting. Gift certificates are available.

Shenandoah Sporting Goods

27460 Old Valley Pike, Toms Creek

540-436-3510

The Web: www.shenandoahsportinggoods.com

Puzzles, photography lessons

During the pandemic, people of all ages enjoyed the calming game of working on puzzles. We found some unique ones at a Front Royal boutique gallery downtown. The images are local and regional scenes – like the Front Royal caboose or a flour mill near Beckley, West Virginia ($ 24.99) – which were taken by photographer Scott Turnmeyer, who, along with his wife Pam, owns Turnmeyer Galleries.

“We have some 750 puzzle pieces, but most are 1,000 pieces. Next year we also plan to bring in some 500 piece puzzles, ”Turnmeyer wrote in an email. “Almost all photos are local in or near the area.”

He added that photo puzzles have always been popular, but he saw an increasing trend in purchases during the pandemic.

“Tourists who walk into the store love the puzzles when they find out these are my photos. Some even asked me to sign the box.

Many older people have discovered photography as a hobby, both with a cell phone and with a camera in manual mode. For the photographer on your shopping list, Turnmeyer offers gift cards that can be purchased online for the photography classes and workshops he teaches.

“We have a classroom in our gallery for classes, but each class also has a remote option to join from anywhere. I have classes for all types of cameras up to manual mode shooting and advanced manual mode shooting for cameras with manual mode options, ”he wrote.

“Workshops are probably one of the most popular items. Throughout the year I do outdoor workshops in the area, and sometimes in other non-local places.

It limits workshops to a maximum of 12 people.

“The majority of my workshops take place in Shenandoah National Park, where we do sunset, sunrise, night sky, waterfalls and more. Other very popular workshops are bald eagles, fall foliage, and soon we will start planning for the 2024 total eclipse and a destination workshop in Moab, Utah.

He also offers beginner’s classes, four at a time, and he said people usually take all four on the same day – with a 10% discount when signing up for all four. Classes are Composition, Understanding Light, Manual Mode Shooting Part 1 and Manual Mode Shooting Part 2. He noted that a manual mode camera is required for the last two lessons.

The 2022 dates for courses and workshops are being finalized and he said they should be released by December 15.

In addition to puzzles and lessons, Turnmeyer Galleries are full of great gift ideas, from fine art and jewelry, to clothing, and handmade candles and soaps.

Turnmeyer Galleries

407B E. Main Street, Front Royal

540-692-9550

The Web: www.turnmeyergalleries.com

Cooking classes

There are other classes available locally that a senior citizen would appreciate. Nibblins, located in the pedestrian mall in downtown Winchester, offers interactive cooking lessons from co-owners Susan and Blair Dolinar and other local chefs. The kitchen supply store and bakery offers hands-on lessons, demonstrations, interactive demonstrations, skill-building classes, and “Heir and a Parent” classes in which children ages 6-11 work on dishes with a parent.

Healthy meal courses may be ideal for the seniors on your carb count. Susan Dolinar has said her husband will be teaching a keto-friendly pizza class in January.

“Some of the classes that we have taken in the past and hope to have on the agenda for the Healthy Eating Series are soups from an electric pressure cooker like an instant pot,” said Susan Dolinar, adding that she has also taught classes on easy low carb casseroles and summer picnic side dishes.

“And I’ll teach how to make some of the desserts. Blair made the Italian, the pizza. He took a chicken course which is really interesting because of the different spices he uses, ”she said.

“If you go to nibblins.com cooking class calendar, which takes you to our booking software and you can buy cooking class gift certificates there, ”she added. “I hope I try to put more courses online, but it’s just a busy time. “

The store also carries hard-to-find keto products as well as goodies in their bakery case – from whoopi pies to brownies, coconut custard pies, cheesecake, and fudge.

“One of the reasons I do so much keto is also because of the gluten-free and diabetic population,” she said.

In addition to classes, Nibblins offers a wide assortment of kitchen items, gadgets, foods, and teas that can be given as gifts.

“We have gadgets. I don’t know how many times people came into the store and said I had hunted all over the place and you got it, said Susan Dolinar.

Nibbins

27 N. Loudoun Street, Winchester

540-535-0787

The Web: www.nibblins.com