The Metro BMX?racetrack, by Sam Lynn Ballpark, provides friendly competition for riders of all ages.

Kris Mulhause has been racing for 20 years and runs the races on Mondays and Fridays as well as practices on Wednesdays alongside his parents. Mulhause said that the individual aspect of the sport allows riders to practice and race around their schedules.?

The races are split up among age and gender groups and are fairly short, usually only lasting about 30 or 40 seconds. The first, second and third place winners choose either a trophy, medal or stamps, which they can use toward purchasing things from local bike shops.?

A few of the riders are nationally No. 1 in their age groups and participated in the biggest race of the year in Oklahoma this past week.

Mulhause believes that with the upcoming Olympics,?BMX is going to get a lot of hype.

“It is an Olympic sport, and we are going to have a national next year out here in May,” he said. “There will be 12 or 13 hundred racers and four or five thousand people watching the races. We will have everything from here all the way down Chester full with cars.”

The track was established in 1991 and has been run by Mulhause and his parents.

?He said his favorite part of BMX is that “you can do it whenever you want and be as serious about it as you want. There are people that come out here that are diehards and there are some kids who come out every Wednesday nights just for practice. Just being out here with your friends is, overall, the best part of BMX.”