Enhance Cycling P/B Nebraska Medicine

Hey everyone,

Welcome to event week! This is the one we've been building toward, and we are pumped to have you with us for it. This Saturday marks the first ever running of the LinOma Line, and you're going to be part of it from the very start. That's a big deal, and we're glad you're here for it.

We will be closing sign ups on Thursday!

This event supports Scare Away Cancer, so every mile you ride out there is riding for something bigger than the finish line.

A quick note on weather: current long term forecasts have us starting in the mid 70s and climbing into the 90s as the day goes on. Get ahead of it. Please start drinking water early and show up already hydrated. Aid stations will be fully stocked out on course, so please use them.

Thanks as always to all our sponsors for making this event possible.

Your riders guide is up on our website:

https://nebraskacycling.com/riders-guide.

It should answer most of your questions about the course, logistics, and what to expect on race day, so please give it a read before Saturday.

We'll see you out there,

Enhance Cycling Team P/b Nebraska Medicine

Sweet Connections in Ashland, NE

Gravel rewards fitness. It also rewards paying attention.

Two of our team, Reine and Justin, found that out this week on the 50km Linoma Line course. Near the end of the route, they rolled past a farm they could have easily ridden by without noticing. There they met Ashland local Joe Bauer, out working his hives, owner of Triple Bee Apiary.

What started as a quick hello turned into a real conversation. Like most people you meet out on these roads, he was glad for the company, and the conversation grew from there, into his hives, his honey, and our upcoming event, the LinOma Line. He mentioned he's planning ahead and intends to give his neighbors a heads-up so folks along the route can keep their dogs in.

Worth noting: IIRC the dog in question is more interested in leaning on your bike for pets than giving chase. But a dog in the wrong spot at the wrong moment, friendly or not, can end somebody's race. That kind of consideration from someone who isn't even participating is worth noticing.

This is another thing gravel gives you: a connection to the roads and trails you end up riding, and the people who call it home.

Joe's info is below. If you're out that way, stop and say hi, and pick up a pint of honey!

Week two of Tuesday Night Worlds delivered again!

Warmer weather and a lot less wind than last week made for a great night of racing. We had 49 entries across the different events, including riders who made the trip up from Sioux Falls to join us, welcome to the series, glad to have you.

The women's field was seven deep, a great sign for the season. And the sport race? Twenty-one riders deep. We think that might be a Tuesday Night Worlds record, and it's exactly the kind of turnout we've been building toward.

We were also thrilled to see the kids out on course. Reminder for any parents on the fence: young kids do not need a USA Cycling license to ride the beginners race, so bring them out.

Before the beginner race, some of our newer riders got to link up with seasoned veterans who walked them through lines, positioning, and a few basics to race a little smarter and safer. That kind of mentorship is the whole point of this series, and it's great to see it happening organically.

Amazing performances across the board and a great learning experience for everyone who lined up. For Enhance Cycling, Heidi Boschen and Shannon Winters brought solid efforts in the Womens Open. It was their first time racing a criterium and brought amazing energy and effort to the field! Christian Iten competed in the Mens Sport Cat IV-III race securing a top 5 finish after 40 minutes of brutal surges and chases.

The Elite race was a show. High speeds, real team tactics, and riders working together to set up their finishers meant the front of the race was never settled until the very end. After 40 minutes of hard racing, it came down to inches once again.

We will not be racing next Tuesday, so take some well deserved time off. See everyone in two Tuesdays!

Take the Front for Jennifer

It was supposed to be a birthday ride.

Instead, on the day she was meant to celebrate another year, Jennifer Schmidt was struck from behind by a pickup truck. The driver failed to yield to a vulnerable road user, and in the space of a few seconds a day built around joy became one of the worst days of her life.

What that driver did to her is hard to put down on a page: a broken pelvis, hip, ribs, vertebrae, arm, leg, and foot and ankle. Several surgeries already, with plates and screws now holding together a body that used to move through the world more freely than most. The recovery ahead of her will be measured in months, not weeks, and she won't be able to work while she heals.

Anyone who knows Jennifer knows what an unnatural thing it is to picture her sitting still.

She is movement. She runs. She rides. She leads spin classes and drags people through the hard middle miles on nothing but encouragement. On race days, she's the lead bike out front of the runners, setting the pace, calling back that they've got this. That's who she has always been in this community: the one who goes ahead so everyone behind her can find the way.

Now it's our turn to take the front and let her sit in for a while.

The money raised goes straight toward Jennifer's rehabilitation and recovery, so she can put her energy into healing instead of medical bills and the long list of costs that follow a crash like this. That's the whole ask. Give her the room to get well.

You can donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-jennifer-schmidts-recovery

Most of you reading this have a mile or a class or a start line somewhere in your memory with Jenn in it, or you've been on the receiving end of her cheering you up a hill you didn't think you had. This is the chance to hand some of that back.

Yesterday, about 50 people rolled out on a ride in her honor and to show solidarity in our community. That's not a small thing. That's a peloton forming around one of its own, and it's exactly the kind of support that's going to carry her through the months in front of her.

Please donate if you can, and share this even if you can't. Let's get Jenn back to the people and the roads she loves.

Watch out all of my graveler friend. Line of sight at rural road intersections. Slow down and look carefully.

Cornering is the single biggest skill that separates a fast, safe pack from a nervous one, and it's the one place a small mistake can take out riders around you, not just yourself.

Whether you're lining up for your first Tuesday Night Worlds or you've been racing for years, the fundamentals are worth revisiting.

Slow in, fast out. Enter wide, cut to the inside at the apex, drift back out on exit. Eyes up through the turn, brake before you tip in (not while you're leaned over), pick your line and hold it, hands in the drops with your outside pedal weighted down. That's the whole game.

Share this with the new racers in your life. See you Tuesday at Baxter Arena — Lot 26, 6:00 PM Beginner start.

Co-hosted by Omaha Velo & Enhance Cycling Team
Tuesdays, June 30–Aug 4 (no July 14)