Wind-Blox (Neon Green)

During the spring of 2011, Mike Fajen ran (or rode) straight into an important safety improvement for biking. He had begun commuting on bike to work in downtown Portland, and chose to listen to Podcasts while on the bike path section of his 13 mile commute. What he quickly found was that the wind noise was often so loud that he had to turn his volume up to a level that made him concerned about his hearing. One day, he became so frustrated with the noise that he wrapped socks around the front straps of his helmet on his way home. The difference the socks made was astounding. Not only could the audio be turned way down, but he could suddenly hear the surrounding sounds -- most importantly, traffic.After a few months with and without the socks, it became clear that this concept needed to be developed and introduced to the market. He approached his daughter Elise, a business student at George Fox University, about partnering with him in forming a company. They began to experiment with various designs and arrived at a product that maintained the full effectiveness without being as visually imposing as socks.They then recruited a number of testers for feedback. The feedback was exactly what Mike and Elise had experienced themselves -- the product makes a huge difference, but does not eliminate all wind noise. Months after the trials, testers still wear their Wind-Blox.