Rider Diary: Lucas Edwards on 2024 Gravity National Championships

September 1, 2024 bjcadmin

In July 2024 I was given the opportunity to race at the MTB Gravity Nationals at Ride Rock Creek, NC. Our trip began in Boulder with Coaches Christoph and Dylan running through all of our bikes and ensuring that they were all in racing condition. Once all of our bikes were ready and packed, we had a rest day before a long travel day to North Carolina.

Our first day in NC was used for packet pickup and prep. We were able to hang out at the air bnb and eat good food. It was a prep day for the days of riding and racing ahead. We spent some time at the venue playing hacky sack and we got to bed early and prepared for the day of riding we had ahead of us.

My first day of pre-ride didn’t exactly go as planned as I wasn’t in the best head space and I was having trouble adapting to the wet terrain. I still managed to pre ride most of the stages and knew what I needed to do on the second day of pre-ride. It was a long day, but after watching the Olympics and hanging out with friends, I was feeling good. I got to bed early again and was in a much better mental space than earlier that day.

Our second pre-ride day went much better for me. My day started with pre riding stage five. This stage had the road gap that I had a major crash on last year so there was a bit of nerves rolling into it. It all went smoothly and that set me up to feel good for the rest of the day. I was able to ride everything that I wanted to that day.

Finally it was race day. Dropping into stage one I had some nerves but after a relatively smooth stage, they all went away. My race felt very consistent however I didn’t exactly get the results I wanted. I wasn’t riding at the speed that I know I am capable of. Nevertheless I had an amazing time racing and riding that terrain.

Following our race, the trip was about hanging out and having fun. We rode party laps the entire next day and watched some downhill while supporting our teammate who was racing DH. On that final day of riding, I really felt like I had adapted to this new terrain and I was having a blast riding it. We also went swimming at a lake not far from our house. We played a big game of volleyball and had a blast before hopping on a plane and coming home.

I learned a lot on this trip, not only with my riding, but with our team and coaches. We all bonded a lot and were able to connect on a much deeper level by the end of the trip. From the water gun ambushes to the mutual stoke we all had riding our bikes there, this trip was truly special.

I want to say thank you to my team, my parents, and everyone who helped make this a great trip.