Offroad enthusiasts draw a line in the mud

April 11, 2004

BY GEOFF OLDFATHER
STUART NEWS

STUART - They call themselves more country than city. They say their lifestyle of mud-bogging is threatened by the "newcomers."

Thousands of them gathered on recent weekends at a farm in western Martin County farm, where owner Edward Underhill ignored county zoning regulations, soaked down 200 acres of pasture, and charged $10 a person for the privilege of getting their trucks and swamp buggies stuck in the mud.

They say newcomers wouldn't know what a mud-bog was if they got stuck in one.

With the success of Underhill's events, a group of dirt bike riders calling themselves the Family Fun Riders is seeking state and local support to turn thousands of acres in Martin County into an off-road recreation park.

With all the emphasis on growth and development, those who like their country lifestyle say they're losing ground to government regulators and "the newcomers."

"I've heard people make the statement that we're just a bunch of dumb rednecks, but they're just talking, they don't know the individual," said Chris Gedres of Palm City.

He and his wife, Suzy, have known each other since their teens. They've been married 12 years and have two kids, Shea, 11, and Dawson, 4.

They consider themselves the all-American family, even if what really gets them excited is playing in the mud - lots of it.

"My sport is mud-bogging, or building trucks, or riding our four-wheelers. It's what our whole family enjoys," said Gedres, a land excavator.

Gedres was one of the first in line for both of Underhill's mud-bogging events.

Underhill faces fines of at least $8,000 because he charged admission, and county code enforcement officials said he never got permits to conduct a "commercial amusement" event. That angered Gedres and many of his friends about what they consider harassment and over-regulation.

Gedres said it's "government bureaucrats and politicians" who have no problem with golf courses but "can't stand to see a bunch of rednecks" having a good time with their mud buggies and four-by-fours.

"We're playing in mud. We're not in khaki pants and a nice polo shirt and pulling up to the golf course in a Lexus," Gedres said.

He and his wife said they speak for thousands of families like theirs who feel they're being "squeezed out."

He might be right about the numbers; Underhill's first event drew about 3,000 people, according to the Martin County Sheriff's Office. More than twice that many were at a second two-day event in early March.

"We don't have one single place to go mud-bogging, to go four-wheeling, to go camping and to enjoy those things with other people like us," Gedres said. "If it was another golf course someone wanted to put in, and someone was making money on it, they'd find a way to make it happen."

They say their lifestyle gives them the opportunity to raise their children with an appreciation for nature most kids don't have.

"Last time we were out, all of us on four-wheelers, we saw an eagle's nest on top of a pine tree," Gedres said. The family observed an adult and two eagles in the nest and, while the family watched, another adult eagle flew over and dropped a small fish into the nest.

"Now, our children had a once-in-a-lifetime experience and couldn't wait till the next day to tell their whole class about it," Gedres said.

Suzy Gedres said many people think they're tearing up the land with their activities.

"And that's not true. We bring a garbage bag and we bring back what we take out there; we teach our kids not to litter; we respect nature," she said.

They know what their dream home would be, and it doesn't include living on a golf course.

The tree service and landscaping business Port St. Lucie resident Richard Sampson started in 1989 has grown to include 12 trucks and 24 employees. He said his business grossed almost $1.5 million last year.

He could afford a fancy boat or a country club membership.

He'd rather go mudding.
"It is definitely a social clash, a culture clash for sure," Sampson said. "A lot of the new people coming down here from up north, they look down on all the Southern people."

Then he had a few thoughts on golfers.
"In all perspective, it takes just as much land, more, to build one golf course as it takes to do what we like to do," be said.

"They put a lot of gopher turtles out when they build a golf course. I've never hurt anything in the woods and I've never run anything out of it's home."

"But the difference is, golf is a money sport. It's popular with the masses and there are a lot more people playing golf," Sampson concluded. "You know, it boils down to money."

Sampson also attended the mud-bog events on Underhill's farm, driving a custom-made four-wheel-drive truck into which he's put at least $45,000.

If the thousands of off-road enthusiasts could join forces, they might be able to get land set aside somewhere for their events, he said.

The Family Fun Riders of Martin County might be the organized voice that's been missing.

The group has a vision for a 3,000 acre park for dirt bikes and off-road vehicles that would include RV parking and overnight camping. Group organizers have met with state officials to find out how to get money for the project from a $1.2 million fund created to develop off-road parks.

The fund comes from a surcharge of $33.75 paid every time someone titles an ATV or off-road motorcycle.

If something like that doesn't happen, mud-boggers such as the Gedres and Sampson said they'll eventually have to move on.

"An endangered species," Sampson said, "that's what we are."

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