Well yet another riding season is upon us. We had such an unusually warm January and February, I thought we might sneak out of the winter without another cold shot… Of course not!!! Not in Georgia. I've seen snow as late as April here. Then it would be 70 degrees 3 days later. Ahh, ya gotta love the South for the variety!
There is plenty of motocross racing beginning this month. I encourage you to visit your local motocross track and watch some amateur racing! I get calls and questions daily from people who are not sure where they can ride their dirt bike (legally). Well, you would be surprised how many places there are in Georgia. I will rattle off a few to ya: Aonia Pass in Washington GA has one of the best trail racing (scramble) tracks in the South as well as a fun motocross track. Echeconnee in Macon also has great trail racing as well as motocross track racing on a regular basis. Also in Macon is Paradise Offroad Park. Paradise has a great motocross track for weekend racing as well as trails in the woods. Also in Middle GA is High Falls near Jackson. High Falls in recently redesigned by Glen Bates and they offer Saturday night races.
Moving northward, there is Loganville's famous "X-Track" on GA20 near Conyers. You will occasionally see "hot shoes" like Ezra Lusk, Jason Edwards and Matt Abbott practicing out there. "X" has 100-foot table top that only a few attempt. X is fun because it has a 1-mile motocross track that is primarily made of sand and dirt so it is hardly affected by rain. They also have a few miles of trails in the woods as well as a fun little pee-wee track for the young'uns. It is one of the favorite places to ride of my RDR members. Also east of Atlanta is Monroe Offroad Ranch near Winder. Monroe has a motocross track, a lighted supercross track and a pee-wee track. They also offer a concession stand, bleacher seating, a mechanic onsite and regular racing on the weekends. Heading north from Monroe there is Lanier Motocross Club in Buford. Lanier is under new track management and they have completely reconfigured the track. They've also added a sprinkler system for those dry days of summer. The track is completely changed! It has all new jumps and turns. Further north from Gainesville is Toccoa's 106 Supercross. 106 is a relatively easy track that is fun for beginners who want to try their hand at racing. They race on Saturday nights during the spring and summer. You can practice on the above tracks on non-race weekends as well.
Of course there are plenty of Off-Road-Vehicle areas throughout north Georgia from Lake Burton all the way over to I-75. The ORV areas are usually closed for the winter until April 1st though. You can contact GARTRA (Georgia Recreational Trail Riders Association) to participate in "work days" at various ORV areas during the winter and spring to help keep the areas clean.
Speaking of WorkDays, Roswell Dirt Riders (my club) is also helping motocross facilities keep clean with some hard work. We went to Monroe Offroad Ranch recently and helped Jim out there clean up for a Series that is starting soon.
Moving west across the state of Georgia there are plenty more motocross facilities to enjoy. Calhoun, Chattanooga MX Park, Lazy River, Tunnel Hill, Riverview are all within a few miles of each other in northwest Georgia. They offer practice days, racing on weekends and lots of fun! There is also a new practice track in Blue Ridge called "The Ridge" that I am sure cannot wait until summer because currently it does not get enough daytime sun to dry the track out. It's a very nice track; it just stays wet after a hard rain so they don't allow riders on the track unless the conditions are good. Further west in GA is the famous Bremen Raceway out past Villa Rica. Bremen spawned some famous local and national racers like Matt Schu, Shae Bentley (125cc West Champion last year) and Matt Walker (who got 5th place in this year's Atlanta Supercross in the 125cc class) as well as Ezra's brother Shane Lusk who is going to be a future hot-shot pro one day.
How do I find out about these facilities you ask? There are several websites you can visit to get phone numbers and directions. Visit Roswelldirtriders.com and go to the LINKS PAGE. One site on the LINKS PAGE called GeorgiaOffroad.com has a complete listing of racetracks, practice tracks and ORV areas in Georgia. Also visit GA-MXRacing.com for listings of racing series and tracks. Hometownmotocross.com is another great site for listings of tracks and series.
So, those of you saying there are no places to ride in Georgia need to open your eyes. There are at least 40 tracks and trails that are legal in Georgia. That's enough to keep you busy. See y'all at the next RDR meeting or group ride. Go to RoswellDirtRiders.com for info on my dirt riders club. Let's get DIRTY!!!