Volunteer Spotlight: Kyle Hansen—A Decade of Dedication

Name & Hometown: Kyle Hansen – Lincoln, NE

Years Volunteering with THOR: 16 years

Meet Kyle Hansen — For more than a decade, volunteer Kyle Hansen has helped shape, repair, and reimagine the singletrack many of us ride today.

Building Better Trails, One Weekend at a Time

If you’ve spent much time at Branched Oak Area 7, chances are you’ve ridden on trails shaped by the steady hands and sharp eye of Kyle Hansen. A longtime THOR volunteer from Omaha, Nebraska, Kyle has been helping care for and improve trails across eastern Nebraska since 2011 — contributing hundreds of hours to keeping them safe, sustainable, and fun to ride.

“Taking care of the trails isn’t a big lift — but it matters. The effort you put in today helps someone else have a great experience tomorrow.” — Kyle Hansen

A Decade of Dedication

Most weekends, you’ll find Kyle at Branched Oak Area 7 (BO7) — his home trail and long-time favorite. This year, storm damage created new challenges, with downed trees blocking miles of corridor. For Kyle, that meant plenty of saw work before getting back to his usual rhythm of reworking eroded sections, clearing drainage, and trimming high limbs so no rider has to duck.

“I’ve always tried to leave the trail better than I found it,” Kyle says. “When you clear a section and ride it afterward, you see right away how your work made a difference.”

Over the years, his trail work has extended beyond BO7 to Wilderness Park, Van Dorn Park, Swanson, Tranquility, and Platte River State Park — each representing another piece of Nebraska’s growing trail network that benefits from volunteers like him.

Two Projects That Stood Out

Of the many projects Kyle has helped shape, two remain especially memorable.

The first: the Van Dorn Park Mountain Bike Loop in Lincoln — a grassroots effort that started with flag lines through tall grass and ended with a purpose-built singletrack. “It was amazing to see what a motivated group could do in a few weekends,” he recalls. “Watching that trail come to life from nothing was incredible.”

The second: last fall’s bold rework of one of Branched Oak’s longest climbs. Working alongside trail leaders like Joel Tabor, the team spent hours crawling through dense brush, refining the layout by hand before ever putting a tool in the ground. “We wanted the new route to connect naturally with existing sections and flow together,” Kyle says. “It took several weekends, but the end result completely changed the character of the trail. That kind of transformation makes all the effort worth it.”

Why He Digs In

Kyle estimates he’s logged between 650–750 volunteer hours since joining THOR, but his motivation goes far beyond the numbers. His stewardship roots trace back to the early 2010s, when he joined a group of Lincoln riders who followed a simple rule set by mentor Craig “Schmidty” Schmidt: Before you ride, you do some trail work.

“That mindset stuck,” Kyle says. “We ride because we love these trails, so taking care of them is just part of it. It’s not a big lift — but it matters.”

For him, the satisfaction lies in the small, visible wins: a smoother turn, a repaired climb, or a freshly cleared corridor. “You can see the difference immediately,” he says. “And when another rider thanks you or comments on how good the trail feels, it reminds you that the work you’re doing really adds up.”

Stewardship for the Long Haul

Kyle believes that trail care is as much about preserving legacy as it is about maintenance. “Many people before us worked hard to build the trails we enjoy today,” he says. “Taking a few hours to maintain them helps ensure they’ll be here for the next generation.”

He knows that small, early interventions — trimming, drainage, touch-ups — prevent much bigger issues later. It’s a philosophy grounded in sustainability and respect for the land.

Favorite Trails and Memories

For all his miles logged with a tool in hand, Branched Oak Area 7 remains his go-to ride. “It’s got the right mix of climbs, descents, and turns that still make me smile every lap,” Kyle says. “It’s also fun to remember how far it’s come over the years and see the changes firsthand.”

When he’s not volunteering, you’ll still find him out on the trail — usually on two wheels, occasionally hiking — continuing the cycle of connection between rider, land, and community.

Thank You, Kyle!

THOR celebrates volunteers like Kyle Hansen, whose quiet consistency, deep knowledge, and genuine care keep our trail systems strong and sustainable. His dedication shows what’s possible when passion meets purpose — and when riders give back to the places that give them so much in return.

Want to join Kyle and others who make a difference on our trails?

Become a TAP Trail Steward and be the reason our trails continue to thrive. Learn more and sign up at https://www.thortrails.org/tap

Let’s build and maintain great trails together—see you out there!

Photos by Eric Freudenburg