Employees of UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, surpassed the competition in the Aug. 17 Corporate Cycling Challenge.
Braving the heat, the joint team rode more miles than those from any other company, said Peter Pellerito of the UNMC Center for Healthy Living. The employees tallied 1,997 miles, while family members rode an additional 683 miles. Mutual of Omaha employees were second with 1,145 miles, while their family members rode another 481 miles.
“We have a lot of people on campus that enjoy cycling and tend to be avid cyclists willing to do a 45-mile ride,” Pellerito said. “By participating in the challenge we indirectly support the Eastern Nebraska Trails Network and trail development.”
The Eastern Nebraska Trails Network, which was formed in April 1992, supports the development of multi-use trails throughout the Omaha and surrounding area. The annual Corporate Cycling Challenge enables the network to work toward such goals as the development of trails on land held by Douglas County and the Papio NRD, trail connection to Nebraska Game and Parks facilities at the Platte River, trans-Missouri River connection to Iowa’s trails and a trail connection between Omaha and Lincoln.
The challenge allows individuals to choose from three tour distances: 45 miles, 26 miles or 10 miles. In all, corporate and individual riders rode 32,768 miles in this year’s cycling challenge.
Employees of UNMC, along with its hospital partner, have earned the distinction of riding the most miles for at least the past five years, Pellerito said.
Complete results from the 2003 Corporate Cycling Challenge can be viewed at http://corporatecycling.tripod.com. For more information on Nebraska’s recreational trails visit http://nebraskatrails.tripod.com/.