As well as a photographer, I have been a DH racer for quite some time now. I first heard the name
Lucas Chalcraft at the Pro GRT stop in Port Angeles, Washington. I had finished a respectable 11th in the Cat 2 Men 19-29 category, and the top spot went to Chalcraft; beating the some 30+ riders by a matter of seconds. Riding a clapped out 2004 intense m3 with a single crown fork made me wonder who this guy was. For the rest of the season I kept hearing the name and finally had a chance to catch up with him.
Hail Hail Rock n' Roll - Chuck Berry
A few weeks ago, myself and Seattle local Billy Lewis rolled down to Oregon for a few days to meet up with a good crew of local guys. Along with them included Lucas who turned out to be a super cool guy to hang out with.
As we got to chatting between shooting and riding, Lucas begins to tell me he had only been riding for less than a year. Which started to add up why he wasn't racing Cat 1 or Pro due to not having enough racing points. Like many who come to mountain biking, Lucas started out riding motocross at a young age. And wasn't until recently he decided to pick up mountain biking. After spending a few tries flipping in the foam pit at Windells Camp, Lucas comes out ready to take it to dirt. After 3 attempts, he has them dialed on the massive dirt double that lays in the yard at Windells.
Today, I met up with Lucas for the first time since Windells to go down to Black Diamond MTB Park to snap some photos. Here's how the rest of the day laid out.
Early Morning Berm
The last flip of the day didn't turn out so well.. get's back up like nothing happend.
We had a great time shooting, Lucas defiantly has it going for him for mountain biking. Keep an eye out for this guy!
Words and photos by: Paris Gore
www.parisgore.com