Recently I wrote about the Heatstroke 100 and it’s gravel route tour. If you were thinking about signing up for this ride, I’m sorry to inform you that due to low registration, it’s been canceled this year. However, there’s another tour the same weekend on Saturday, August 29, the Homestead Cycling Tour out of Beatrice. From the event’s Facebook page:
“Come join us for the 13th annual Homestead Cycling Tour on Saturday, August 29th! DID WE MENTION THAT WE WILL HAVE PIE AGAIN THIS YEAR? We offer a 15, 25, 40 and 72 mile limestone routes on the Chief Standing Bear Trail. And again this year, we will offer 36 & 60 mile Gravel Routes that will travel on some beautiful gravel and dirt roads. There will be SAG stops at the trailheads, at miles 12, 18, 31, 41, and 51. This is NOT a race, but a great gravel tour using gravel & dirt roads, MMRs, and offering beautiful views!
With your $40 entry, you will receive plenty of SAG support along the way, and fresh pie at Barneston Trailhead and at the end! And if you get signed up before noon on August 17th, you will receive our famous soft, comfy, short sleeve event shirt! Most of our proceeds from this event, go back towards the maintenance of our Chief Standing Bear Trail.”
It’s always sad to see an event like the Heatstroke 100 go on hiatus, but that’s the nature of grass-roots events. It takes a lot of planning and resources to make an event happen, and if two events fall on the same weekend, it can stretch the rider base too thin. Also, it was brought to my attention that some cyclists may no longer feel as safe as they used to riding pavement after hearing of crashes involving cars and groups of cyclists at events in other states.
I was just chatting with a cycling friend about how cycling events have changed over the past 10+ years. Also, how people ride has changed. A significant percentage of those riding pavement have switched over to gravel, or now ride them both. New events were created, then grew and morphed, or disappeared. Cyclocross seems to have taken a pause in Lincoln since the principle event organizers moved away. I predict mountain biking will continue to grow here as the Lancaster Composite Mountain Bike Team and NICA continues to introduce young riders to the sport.
The same organizers can only put on an event for a certain amount of time before it has to pass into new hands if it is to continue, and new riders have to find the event. I’d venture that most riders who sign up for an event don’t know much about behind the scenes drama, ego clashes, or funding. Riders sign up because they want to go ride their bikes with friends, new and old, challenge themselves, (racers gotta race) get away from the city for a while, and experience the collective energy such an event creates. Just talk to anyone who’s ridden RAGBRAI for more about what that can be like. Some need events to train for, or they lack motivation and focus. Others are turned off by competition with anyone but themselves. Though I usually commute and ride by myself due to logistics, I always love to ride with friends, too. The cycling scene is dynamic, always changing, reinventing itself. There’s a group or an event out there waiting for you to join, or help create, if you’re interested.
Our recent Warmshowers guest Matt (below right) decided to do RAGBRAI when on a past tour through Florida he couldn’t find any available hosts in mid July because they were all at RAGBRAI. Here he is at the end of the tour. He said “Had a great time, made good friends!”
