If you are not a shopper, but you promised to accompany a loved one to the 4th Street stores in Berkeley for holiday gift shopping, print out the Wheelgirl coupon on Google maps, and stop by the bike shop.
Think of your shopping experience like a 5-hour mountainous climb.
- Hydrate and don't forget to eat: You can drink coffee at Peet's, and eat a bunch of different foods at the cafes and restaurants on the street.
- Set a rhythm that works for you: Look at books at the 4th Street's Builders Bookstore and Cody's Books in between nodding approvingly at Crate and Barrel place mats and seasonal house-ware items decorated with penguin and reindeer.
- Conserve energy: Do not go into the red. You think shopping means parking, walking into a store, getting an item, paying for it, and walking out all in 10 minutes? You better think again, my friend. Three hours is nothing to a holiday shopper. Pace yourself. If you blow up, you can't recover. You will be standing on the street yelling at a parking meter, and you will have to give up another entire Saturday to redeem yourself.
- Visualize reaching the end of the climb: Close you eyes and see the stores closing and the employees going home.
Photo lifted from the Trento Bike Pages. (I couldn't find the photographer's name.) Check out the Trento site, which looks to be a very good resource if you are planning to bicycle tour through the Americans, Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe.
