Candy Cranks

Hey my name is Cara, I’m 21 and live in Memphis, Tennessee. I’m currently studying for a degree in Fine Arts with a concentration in photography. Pretty much the only thing I love as much as photography is riding my bike. This is me.

I’ve ridden bikes my whole life, but I really got into it about 3 years ago, when I built my first road bike at our community bike shop, Revolutions. I started riding fixed a little bit after that and just recently got into fixed gear freestyle. The fgfs scene in Memphis is nonexistent. I basically have to teach myself tricks, with the help of tricktrack and vimeo. Just recently, I bought myself a road bike for commuting to school and for long rides. I’ve only put about 100 or so miles on it, but it’s so much fun!

Memphis is known as being one of the worst cities to live in, so this kind of goes without saying, but it’s also one of the worst cities to cycle in. The roads could be better and motorists can be really awful when it comes to sharing the road, but there is a strong bike community here. Memphis has recently taken some big jumps towards being more bike-friendly. We’re expecting bikes lanes soon and Memphis’s biggest greenline is supposed to open at the end of next month. Group rides take place weekly, and the polo scene here is starting to pick up as well. There still not much in the way of people to trick with, but hey, one step at a time.

I’m really excited to be part of Candy Cranks. I want to help put Memphis on the map of awesome places to ride bikes. I have a personal blog, where I update my photography, here and I also write for GottaBeGritty, a blog about Memphis, bikes, art, and all things awesome!