San Francisco, CA (KGO) April 13, 2009

CycleAware, a woman-owned business, inspires others. See the ABC news story.

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Let's face it, jersey pockets are handy, but easily overstuffed. Enter CycleAware's Stow-Away. This featherweight mesh/nylon bag folds into its own pouch (right) and fits into any pocket. Then, when you need a place to stuff your leg warmers, jacket, gloves, that lost garden gnome you found next to the road; simply remove the Stow-Away, open it up and it turns into a mesh backpack. The airy mesh ensures your back stays dry and you remain cool and comfy, and inside you'll find a built-in ID card, a key ring and ample space for all your gear. Plus, the straps are soft, there's a sternum clip to keep them in place and there's a large reflective panel for safety. The Stow-Away costs only $15.95

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Aptos, California (May 30, 2008) CycleAware, Inc. will be a sponsor of the 2008 Death Ride, and Stow-Away™, CycleAware's latest addition to its innovative line of high-end bicycle safety accessories, will be a "must have" during the ride.

Recognized as one of the premier cycling events in the West, the Death Ride, includes five passes over 129 miles and 15,000+ feet of lung busting climbing. Riders start around 5:00 a.m. when it's fairly dark and around 48 degrees, and by 4:00 p.m. it's not uncommon for it to be up to 100 degrees -- so imagine the conundrum that cyclists find themselves in when it comes to planning what clothing to wear. While Death Ride conditions are extreme, all cyclists are faced with "what to wear" anxiety -- they don't want to be too cold and they don't want to peel off layers only to find the clothing won't all fit comfortably in their jersey pockets.

As its name suggests, Stow-Away is the new lightweight, reflective mesh backpack from CycleAware that folds into its own pocket and stows compactly in a jacket or cycling jersey. Riders won’t even know the Stow-Away is there until it’s pulled from its hideaway and used in a variety of situations. When the day heats up after a frosty morning, Stow-Away will hold the layers of clothing a rider needs to shed. “It’s my $16 insurance policy,” says Tim Donovan, bike commuter and recreational cyclist. No more hiding jackets in trees and behind rocks, no more bulging jersey pockets. Cyclists can simply unfold the Stow-Away, load it up and slip it over their shoulders. Its durable lightweight fabric will carry plenty of cycling gear, clothing and food. The maximum air flow allowed by the nylon mesh keeps its wearer and contents cool and dry. Alternatively, after peeling clothes at the start of a race or at a rest stop on a century, cyclists can fill Stow-Away and hand it to a SAG friend. Later, when the sun goes down and leaves a rider in the dark, Stow-Away’s super-reflective spinning wheel logo will be highly visible to motorists. Each Stow-Away has a plastic sleeve for carrying cash and identification, and also comes equipped with a small key hook and lanyard.

“We know that Stow-Away is perfect for road cycling, mountain biking, commuting and running errands, but we’re still compiling our list of all its uses. It’s kind of a contest: “What do you Stow-Away?” says CycleAware President Lee Gilbert. “We created Stow-Away as a lightweight, low profile pack for clothing and gear, and with recreational cycling and touring in mind. As a bonus, though, cyclists riding home past local cafes or shops will find Stow-Away perfect for bringing home coffee for the week or their post-ride burrito. The sky’s the limit. Before a barbecue last summer, my husband rode home from Corralitos with a bison steak in his jersey. He needed Stow-Away!”

As Charlie Meehan, veteran road and mountain biker and owner of Seabright Brewery of Santa Cruz, describes Stow-Away, “I’ve been doing night mountain bike rides that start with several miles of hard climbing. After catching a sunset, we fire up our lights and ride down pretty hard. I sweat a lot on the climb, so having a change of clothes is essential. I love my Stow-Away for carrying the dry warm clothes up and the wet stuff down. The pack is so light I forget it’s there, and I’m really impressed by how effective the shoulder cords are. As a plus, I know the reflective CycleAware logo is visible to cars as I ride back out to my truck.”

Stow-Away will be available at an MSRP of $15.95 in bike shops, outdoor sports stores and online at www.cycleaware.com. In addition to Stow-Away, CycleAware is the manufacturer of innovative action sport safety products including Reflex The Flexible Helmet Mirror; Heads-Up! The Adjustable Mirror for Glasses; ViewPoint The Adjustable Mini Spy Mirror; VüBar The MTB Bar End Mirror; and Wand-a The LED That Hides in Your MTB Handlebar.

CycleAware, Inc. markets its products internationally and is the world's leading high-end cycling mirror manufacturer. Its mission is to provide top quality, innovative safety accessories to a wide variety of cyclists and action sports enthusiasts worldwide.

Contact: Ben Clough at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (831) 685-1115x81.

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By Jim Langley, RBR Contributor and Cycling Advocate

The best thing about riding with a mirror is being able to hog the road (rather than always hugging the curb) because you're certain no cars are following. It's also great spotting dangerous drivers and vehicles in plenty of time to take evasive action. There are mirrors that attach to helmets and the temple of your glasses, and models that fit on the handlebars and frame.

I like CycleAware's ViewPoint Mirror best because it's inconspicuous and can't be knocked off or bent the way protruding helmet and eyewear models can. Also, it weighs next to nothing and costs only $13.95. While the ViewPoint is tiny, about the size of a pencil eraser, because it's so close to the eye, it provides a full view of the road. So, on group rides, you always know what's happening behind. And best of all, no one knows you have it.

Not everyone can use this type of mirror and you'll have to try it. You have to be able to focus on the image in the mirror. And, you must adjust the mirror carefully in order to see. This takes some trial and error. The ViewPoint has a ball-and-socket connector (see diagram) that helps a lot. All in all, this is a great mirror (as long as your eyes are compatible).

Diagram:

RATING: 5 out of 5 Chainrings!

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The increasing number of commuters riding bicycles to work is good for more than just the environment. It's also good for Lee Gilbert. The Aptos woman is running two businesses that cater to bicyclists: a store that fits people for their bikes and a company that creates and sells products to make the ride more safe.

Gilbert won a competition on Jan. 23 for women-owned small businesses for CycleAware Inc., her mirror and light business. The contest was sponsored by Count Me In and American Express.

Gilbert says she saw a shift in consumer behavior starting last fall. "For the last 10 years, people have been saying that commuter cycling is going to take off, and each time it fizzled. But last year, it actually stuck. People are coming in, saying they have a seven-mile commute and they're looking for something reliable and not too expensive," Gilbert says. "Finally we have a demand for the supply. For CycleAware, it's obvious the timing was right."

CycleAware does about 10 percent of its business through an online site, 30 percent through large retailers such as REI and Performance Bike, and the rest from distributors that send the products to bike stores throughout the U.S. and world. Gilbert says her company will likely sell about 250,000 products in 2008.

Gilbert says the road to her present success wasn't easy. She faced a lot of rejection from retailers since she first started CycleAware with a partner in 1991, selling an electric horn she describes as "loud, effective and annoying." "The price was too high, it didn't test well and it was overly engineered," she says. "But it was essentially a great idea. People were excited about the product but were really excited about our vision of innovative safety products." The horn didn't sell, so Gilbert stuck with the company as a side venture until 1994 when she started selling a mirror she designed to help on her bicycle commutes. The company now sells five products for between $14 and $17 each but plans to ramp up growth and add three new products a year for the next couple years.

The timing is right for the company to expand because 43-year-old Gilbert's kids are growing up. That also coincides with a growth in interest in bicycles, she says. The most recent data from the U.S. Census estimates that in 2000 there were between 106,134 and 134,022 Californians older than 16 who typically ride their bicycles more miles to get to work than they ride other vehicles. That's more than a quarter of all bike commuters in the U.S., according to the Census data. Groups such as the California Bicycle Coalition say there's no recent data on how many Californians are using bicycles to commute to work, especially now that it's becoming more economically viable and socially acceptable than it was at the time of the last census.

But CycleAware has grown tremendously since 2000. In 2007, the company saw a 30 percent increase in revenue. Gilbert is projecting 50 percent growth each year through 2010, which will bring the business to more than a million dollars in revenue annually. Gilbert wouldn't share revenue numbers but said the company is profitable because it's a "lean, mean" operation -- in fact, she's a one-person shop, designing the products herself and then having them manufactured in China and sold through distributors. She plans to add two full-time employees and to employ her husband this year.

CycleAware products are in 4,000 to 5,000 bicycle stores nationwide, or about 30 percent of all bicycle stores. That's where Gilbert sees an opportunity. "We're very popular in bike stores, but some of our products are best for those who never set foot in a bike shop, for people riding their bikes around their neighborhoods or on errands," she says.

That's where her recent win can help. Gilbert says the contacts she has made through the Make Mine a Million $ Business competition can help her get the products in stores with more general audiences. According to organizers of the event, less than 3 percent of women-owned businesses generate more than $1 million in revenue annually, roughly half the percentage of men-owned businesses.

Gilbert says she never thinks she faced discrimination as a woman business owner but knows there aren't many others in her industry. Gilbert and her business partner, Joanne Thompson, have run Bike Station Aptos, one of the only women-owned bicycle shops in the country, for three years.

Gilbert spends the majority of her time designing products for CycleAware and says the store presents her with great opportunities for testing products with customers before ramping up manufacturing in China. But she advises other entrepreneurs to start small.

"If you're solving a problem out there, if you have something that works better than someone else's product, you only need one product," she says, "and you can eventually build up the line."

EMMA RITCH covers cleantech, Internet technologies, small business and hospitality for the Business Journal. Reach her at (408) 299-1830.

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APTOS, CA -- When Lee Gilbert took up cycling, she couldn't find a helmet rear view mirror she liked. So she decided to make one herself. Now Gilbert, who started CycleAware of Aptos 17 years ago, is among 10 women selected for the "Make Mine a Million $ Business" award, a program to boost female entrepreneurship. Gilbert, 43, chosen from 1,200 applicants, was feted at a red-carpet affair in Los Angeles last week with a keynote by the 2007 winner of NBC-TV's "The Apprentice." "Now that my kids are older, and the company has financial stability, this is the time to take it to the next level," said Gilbert, a mother of two and competitive triathlete who studied international business at San Francisco State University. She's the second Santa Cruz County winner. Gina Lyons, president of Lyons Marble and Granite in Santa Cruz, won in 2006. The competition has expanded each year, with 112 winners chosen since 2005, and a goal to reach 1 million women entrepreneurs by 2010.

CycleAware is very much a virtual operation. Gilbert, a partner with her husband and another couple in Aptos Bike Station, comes up with conceptual designs, the feel, the price, the aesthetics. Then she works with industrial designers and mechanical engineers in San Francisco, Oregon and Shenzhen, China, who turn the concept into reality. Safety comes first. "On a bike, you have no protection," Gilbert said. "Going 40 mph down Old San Jose Road, you can be sure I'm glancing in that mirror." But she doesn't ignore style. "We don't want to look geeky -- we want to look cool," she said.

Her mirrors and lights are available online. They also are sold by distributors in the U.S. such as Wilson Bicycle Supply in Oakland and internationally, in Sweden, France and the Ukraine.

Rob Jensen, 53, of Corralitos, who bikes about 10,000 miles a year, likes the Reflex, her fully adjustable rear-view helmet mirror for $15.95. It stands out because it's adhesive with a flexible stem and has a great lines of sight, he said. Jensen also uses the ViewPoint. The tiny James Bond-ish mirror sticks to the inside of your sunglasses and is like having eyes in the back of your head. "Nobody knows it's there," Jensen said. "I don't like to ride without it."

A year and a half ago, Gilbert attended a conference in San Francisco sponsored by the National Association for Women Business Owners, where she learned about the million-dollar competition. "I was working in a vacuum all these years and not reaching out to people who could help me," Gilbert said.

Theresa Alfaro Daytner, a mother of six who started a construction company, asked her a question that gave her pause: "If you were a man, would you try to juggle all these balls or would you try to get some help?" Gilbert shared the conversation with her husband. In March, he plans to give up his commute over the hill to a law firm in Palo Alto to become chief operating officer for CycleAware. Gilbert is relieved -- and pleased. "This is like one of my babies," she said.

With someone to handle operational details like shipping, advertising and insurance, Gilbert will be free to focus on product design, her favorite part of the business. To reach her goal of $1 million in annual sales by 2010, she aims to develop three new products a year for the next three years. "If you're not in the products business, that doesn't seem like much," she said. "But just coming up with one product is mind-numbingly complicated."

The "Make Mine a Million $ Business" winners get up to $50,000 in financing from American Express, mentoring from Count Me In, the nonprofit that started the competition, consultations on financial planning with AIG, and a laptop computer from Dell. Gilbert hopes she will be selected to receive a $20,000 prize package from Cisco that would provide her with a videoconferencing setup to replace her makeshift system of phone, scanner and e-mail. "I could call a designer and show him the prototype," she said. "A picture is worth a thousand words."

Gilbert sees a world of opportunity as well as new markets outside the cycling community. She's already shipped to customers to Slovenia, Russia, South Africa and Greece. "They span the globe," she said.

For more about the competition, go to www.countmein.org.

Contact Jondi Gumz at 706-3253 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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For the pro cyclist to the first-time buyer, Bike Station Aptos is a full service bicycle shop for all types of bike enthusiasts, including mountain bike and road cyclists. With a top-notch staff of experienced cyclists, Bike Station Aptos can handle your bike repairs or help you choose from a full line of cycling equipment, components and apparel from some of the best names in the nation.

Conveniently located at 8061 Aptos Street, right near Coles Barbecue and across the street from Starbucks, this women-owned bicycle shop is a partnership between Aptos residents Joanne Thompson and Lee Gilbert.

The experienced staff at Bike Station Aptos bring years of experience, professionalism and attention to detail to help people reach their bicycling goals and dreams. It is just a passion for me and also my business partner, said Joanne, 43. I started racing bikes back in 1984 and just have stayed involved with it most of my life.

Lee, 42, is also an accomplished triathlete who has competed in the Wildflower Triathlon, the Sandman, the Big Kahuna and the Sentinel Triathlon. Lee is also founder and President of CycleAware, Inc., whose line of high-quality safety products include rearview mirrors Reflex, Heads Up! and ViewPoint.

"We kind of had circuitous ways of getting here, but now we are doing what we love," Joanne said. Rounding out the staff is Matt Feinstein, a hands-on mechanic who provides personalized service, and is a former mountain bike racer and BMX competitor.

The shop has been in operation for nearly four years, in its current location since May 2005.

Less Intimidating, More Supportive Atmosphere. Another goal of Bike Station Aptos is to provide a supportive and less intimidating environment for youth and women cyclists, including commuters, recreational cyclists and competitive riders. The shop supports a number of local junior racers who are just starting out in their early teens, and also supports women's cycling by hosting events including maintenance clinics.

In February 2007, Bike Station Aptos was designated as Santa Cruz County's exclusive Cannondale dealer. Cannondale is well known among mountain bikers for its lefty shock systems, a front shock that has only one arm instead of two, Joanne said. Now they are also doing incredible road bikes and sponsor a number of pro cycling events, she said. Cannondale was also the first company to support women's cycling by building bikes designed specifically for women, and continues to sponsor women's bicycle racing at every athletic level.

However, Bike Station Aptos will not sell you a bike based just on gender. It's more body type specific, Matt said. The women-specific bikes have dramatically shorter top tube lengths and narrow handlebars, but its zero advantage if you do not have the right body type, he said.

Women-specific bikes are not for everybody, but for those they are designed for, the bikes are fantastic, Joanne said. Women who are 5-feet, 4-inches and below are often good candidates, she added.

Bike Station Aptos carries many other high quality brands including Colnago, Pinarello, Bianchi, Wilier, Pegoretti and Raleigh. The store is also a certified Campagnolo pro-shop.