‘NoWear’ BMX Compound brings biking indoors

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - It’s a refuge for some: a place to belong for kids like 10-year-old Jett Leblanc.

At such a young age, Jett has already lost an uncle, brother and grandmother. But when he’s trying tricks on his bike, he can’t help but smile.

“It’s just having fun, getting away from my problems, because I’ve had a pretty tough life,” Leblanc said.

The NoWear BMX Compound--near Unadilla, Nebraska--gives him and others a space to connect outside of the social pressure of team sports.

“When I was young, I feel like I was left out,” Sam Bussell, a BMX rider, said. “And BMX, I was always welcomed. I just couldn’t see myself without riding bikes ever.”

But the fall harvest is always the swan song of the BMX season--when most enthusiasts have to rack up their bikes and wait out the winter. They have to put the brakes on their passion, and some return to hard times and bad habits.

“I could help these kids get clean, become a part of what we were doing,” NoWear founder Karl Hinkley said. “But then we would lose them because Nebraska has harsh winters and nothing to do. If I have a four-month period that I can’t work with these kids, then they fall in with the wrong crowd. And bad habits and stuff again. my wife and I just saw the need to work with kids all year-round.”

Hinkley founded ‘NoWear’ back in 2011. His goal was to provide a space for kids to let loose while staying on the right track--all while learning the ins and outs of BMX. And now, he can provide that space year-round.

This week, Hinkley and his team finished building an indoor BMX structure. It was a half million dollar project that cost less than $150,000--thanks to pro bono work and used materials.

“We had some contractors that helped out,” Hinkley said. “Stuff like that. And we all had to learn along the way. Because we hadn’t put up a building before, and we all just had general knowledge here and there.”

And the new space isn’t just for bikes: skateboards, rollerblades and scooters are all welcome.

So far, two-year-olds all the way up to 65-year-olds, have cruised on the compound--all for free.

“This place is 100% free to the public,” Leblanc said. “Because you shouldn’t have to have wealth to enjoy the wealth of this sport. The wealth of this sport is just helping you get of your problems and just have fun and do what you like to do.”

There’s still work to do on the facility, Hinkley said. The team is $10,000 away from being able to build new bathrooms. And the walls will need plenty of paint. But for the compound, this week was the start of a new era--thanks to the generosity of local businesses, private donors and even Hinkley himself.

“The fact that people believe in our cause that much,” Hinkley said. “And they see what it can do for their kids and grandkids and stuff. That means a lot.”