Porter Wimpey thought it through.
The 13-year-old researched bikes and made a decision prior to the Nebraska Interscholastic Cycling League's (NICL) Blair debut.
“I knew which one I wanted,” he said Sunday morning at Black Elk-Neihardt Park.
Cyclists, parents and professionals were making minor adjustments to their mountain bikes before the first race at 11:30 a.m. Coaches prepped middle school and high school athletes, too, as more cars with bike racks made their way on Blair streets than is typical.
“You can definitely tell the race mood has changed,” NICL Race Director Matt Neel said. “Yesterday was all about setup. Today, everybody's getting their minds on racing.”
The Blair City Council unanimously approved his non-profit organization's request to use the park for its two days of events in February. NICL and its volunteers designed the course and prepped in for its big day — Sunday's season-opening event.
“The crew that staffs here and volunteers here has done an outstanding job,” Neel said. “We could not ask for a better venue.”
The goal for the NICL was to make it a comfortable environment for young cyclists and their supporters. There was food, music and the course was walkable.
“We really make it a family-friendly event,” Neel said.
For the first time Sunday, a Blair team took part. In addition to Wimpey, Donovan Maggio, 12, and Triston and Landon Zahourek, 14, rode their hometown hills with Jon Zahourek as their coach.
“I'm just excited about the whole thing,” Wimpey said beforehand.
“Oh yeah,” Maggio agreed, sharing the enthusiasm.
Wimpey picked the right bike for him — a lightweight, comfortable Trek — and made sure to hydrate. Maggio, meanwhile, was ready to go with Nutri-Grain Bites in his stomach.
Girls and boys in middle school and high school raced for approximately 6 hours Sunday. The league has grown “50 percent year-over-year,” according to Neel. “We're 50 percent larger than we were last year.”
The race director said hospitality from the City of Blair and the community had been “outstanding.”
The same could said for the setting of NICL's race series.
“This is kind of a hidden gem,” Neel said, looking out over Black Elk-Neihardt Park.
He anticipates the day's races will draw more riders, more volunteers and continued development of trails in Blair.
“Hopefully, we'll come back in years to come for events just like this when we're three times the size,” Neel said.
It's a benefit to cycling and the teenagers who pedaled around the course Sunday.
“These kids are learning a life-long sport they can take to their grave,” he said. “Which is awesome.”
