Layne’s father, Wes, bought his first bike when Layne was 5. Layne wanted to follow in dad’s footsteps, so he and mom Bobbiejo told their son that, if he saved the money, he could buy a bike. Layne saved $300 and bought his first PW80.

“And it was too big for him, so my husband made training wheels for him,” Bobbiejo said. “Since then, he just took off with it. We bought him a PW50, we put him on it and he just stood up and took off on his own.”

Two weeks off of training wheels, and Layne already was racing at the Putman County Fair. Soon, the Morrises decided to take a step up in competition, and entered into the GNCC races. As Bobbiejo watches her son race, she marvels at the little things he does that makes for a standout racer — when to drop his leg in a turn or when to stand up. Those moves, she said, came naturally.

Competing seems to come naturally for Layne, too. As quickly as he became comfortable on a bike, he cozied up to the intensity of a big race. Asked what he likes most about the sport, there’s no one part Layne can point to. It’s a laundry list.

“I was pretty nervous, but I had a passion and I really feel good about myself after all these races,” he said. “I like to have fun — the competition, the mud, the roots, everything. Just to have a goal is fun.”

And Layne can’t get enough. He gets antsy in the winters when he can’t ride regularly, an irritation that subsides when he can head south for a weekend and get back on a bike. In his spare time, if he’s not playing Minecraft like nearly every other kid in America, he’s watching racing videos on YouTube. He sees competitors like Kailub Russell and hopes to one day emulate them. 

He takes some ribbing at school, Bobbiejo said, about how he doesn’t know how to play basketball or how his racing isn’t a sport.

If they had a chance to watch, Layne said, they’d see just how difficult a sport it is.

“You have to be tough to do it,” he said. “I took me a while to learn how to go around a track. It’s not for everybody.”

His friends and family will get that chance to see him on Sept. 24, just 170 miles away from Charleston in Masontown, as opposed to Georgia, Indiana, New York or North Carolina — all states where he’s competed. He hopes the home-dirt advantage will help him close the gap on Nelsonville, Ohio’s Dakota Cunningham, who has finished first in four of five races so far this season. Layne can’t wait to have a bigger cheering section.

“All my family and friends are coming to watch,” he said. “It makes me feel great. I like people cheering me on.”

Bobbiejo and Wes love watching their son race, but they also love the ancillary benefits that come with it. They get to spend the quality family time together that other parents crave. Bobbiejo still gets nervous when Layne takes the starting line, but those nerves melt away as soon as he’s on the track. And they’re nowhere to be found when they’re in the car, headed to or from the latest race.

“I always try to tell him how proud I am of him,” she said. “And just looking back there when he’s sleeping when we’re on the road, just thinking about how far he’s come and the time we get with him, it’s nice to be part of something he loves.”

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