- Bainbridge, Cairo, and Tallahassee have five motocross training facilities between them.
- Larger companies like Yamaha are moving to the area to take advantage of the year-round warm temperatures to train.
- Watch the story to hear why one four-year-old is ready to ride.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Riders from across the country are lining up to hit the motocross tracks here in Bainbridge.
Kids of all ages are gearing up and getting ready to compete.
Riders ages six to thirty are rolling up to the Southern training facility and Raceway.
But there's one ready to get a head start on their training.
"How old are you?” asked WTXL reporter, AJ Douglas.
"Four,” said Ryder Bulger, a motocross rider
Four-year-old Ryder James Bulger hails number 27.
He stands at just 3 ½ feet.
"What is your favorite thing to do?" asked AJ.
"Ride!” said Ryder.
The 160-acre training facility holds 10 tracks better known as Ryder's backyard.
Ryder's father Cole Bulger is the owner and operator.
Cole said he decided to revive the motocross tracks and expand.
"This place has been here since 1997. I bought it three years ago. Motocross in the Bainbridge community is growing,” according to Cole Bulger, owner and operator, Southern Training Facility and Raceway (STF).
Cole points out that the area is becoming a hub for the sport.
There is one facility south of Bainbridge in Tallahassee and three other motocross training tracks just east of Bainbridge in Cairo.
"This is moto-mecca of motocross. There's no other place that has four or five training facilities right here,” said Cole.
Cole said the number of local riders is growing but overall, when the dust settles, these tracks have people from around the country moving to the area.
"A Lot of our people are from Ohio, North Carolina, and South Carolina,” said Cole.
Cole said parents are signing their kids up to train Monday through Thursday in hopes of one day going pro.
When asked what the soon to be five-year-old Ryder aspires to be when he grows up?
"I'm going to be a spaceman,” said Ryder.
Riders are set to race Gatorback in Gainesville by the end of this week.
