Meet Lynn Baumann

It takes someone with a whole lot of gumption to show up at 6am and ride nowhere. But Lynn Baumann was a staple at the early morning rides, as well as all of the many cycling and yoga classes at Yen Yoga & Fitness in her many years as member at the studio. Her endless energy, positive outlook, and her ability to smile even when the workout got more than a little challenging made her a popular figure and a role model at Yen.

Lynn passed away after a fight with cancer in 2018. Yen Yoga and her fellow cyclists and yogis have missed her dearly ever since. Lynn’s determination and strength didn’t fade an ounce during her long fight with the disease, and her determination was on full display to everyone who spent time with her during her illness.

In her memory, kolo t.c. and Yen Yoga & Fitness wants to give the next generation of cyclists an opportunity to show the level of energy, grit, and positive energy that Lynn embodied. With the generous help from Yen Yoga & Fitness and Norte Youth Cycling, we’re going to offer up a scholarship for a young cyclist who wants to train, race hard, and volunteer for Norte in the spirit of being an excellent cyclist and human being.

How It’ll Work

Candidates will be encouraged to write an essay about how bikes, bike racing, and the cycling community has changed their lives and their outlook on the future. Any young cyclist (17 and under) in the northern Michigan area is eligible to enter by submitting their essay to kolo t.c. before April 1. Wes, Temple Florip from Yen Yoga, and Ty Schmidt from Norte (and World’s Hottest Dad nominee), will select a three winners to receive separate, $250 scholarships. These winners will be announced April 15.

The relative vagueness of the essay topic is intentional – we want these kids to feel free to write about bikes in their own words and in their own way. There’s no word minimum or maximum. Quality, my friends is preferable to pre-determined quantities.

The Details

• The winner will need to commit to racing four times in 2020, as well as volunteering for four Norte events of their choosing.

• The topic is: How have bikes, bike racing, and the cycling community changed your life?

• Essays are due by April 1

• The winner of the $250 scholarship for race registrations will be announced April 15

• Thanks to the generous support of Kurt Schuler and Liz Belt, we can now offer THREE scholarships for 2020!

• Submit your essay here

We’ll have a link in kolotc.com’s navigation for submitting essays. We sure would love your help in getting the word out about this opportunity, so please share this post and help us tell the world about Lynn’s scholarship.

If you have any questions, please email Wes Sovis and he’ll get back to you as soon as he can. Let’s give a future bike racer and active member of our community some financial help to chase his or her dream of racing bikes and creating positive change in our sport.

Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook for more updates on the scholarship.