Austin, Texas is definitely a bikey kind of place and although I try to immerse myself in as much of the bike culture as I can…there is so much more that I just can’t get around to.  A new social media friend of mine, Jessica Alexander, is a total local cyclist and has gotten involved with a bunch of the bike events and projects in the area.  She’s also a great photographer and today we’re sharing just some of the things that have caught her lens.

Be sure to scroll down and check out a couple of pictures and information on an incredible Austin cycling program called “Lend Your Legs” that helps people unable to see, experience the exhilaration of riding a bike.

Lend Your Legs

Social Cycling Austin created a fantastic cycling ride in Austin called Lend Your Legs.  Local cyclists pilot a tandem bicycle and take long kids from the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.  This program allows these kids to experience the thrill of cycling and all the freedom that comes with it.  Here are a couple photos from Jessica that capture this experience.

Jessica Alexander

Jessica Alexander is a 31-year-old Austin-area native. She’s been shooting since she discovered her dad’s passion for photography when she was around 15-years-old. Jessica decided to study Journalism and Public Relations in college but never truly put the camera down and continued to shoot right into the digital age.  She’s worked professionally in the music industry doing marketing and currently freelance in marketing, social media and photography here in Austin.  Her other huge passion in life besides photography are cycling and you can find her on some sort of bike any day of the week.  Jessica recently completed her first full Ironman Triathlon with plans to complete another one next year!  She’s also loves wrenching bikes, and has worked full-time in a bike shop in the past and have built and repaired almost every bike she owns, as well as most of her friends bikes.  There is no doubt that bikes are her life…..she got a bike tattoo almost three years ago and it’s one decision she will never regret and will always have with her, where ever she goes.

I’m a little late getting this post up, but seeing as I had access to some incredible photos by Jessica Alexander…I wanted to put up a quick post on the 2011 North American Cycle Courier Championships (NACCC) held in Austin a week ago.

The NACCC happens each year and is a weekend full of bike racing, parties, messenger bags….and apparently tattoos.  The event is put on to celebrate the hard work that bike couriers do and bring them all together to showcase their industry and talent.  For more information on this year’s NACCC, you can check out www.naccc2011austin.wordpress.com.

Thanks to Jessica Alexander for supplying these fantastic shots from the race:

For more of Jessica’s photos from the 2011 NACCC, have a look at her Flikr Photo Album.  To check out the results from last week’s NACCC racing, visit the results page.

This past weekend was totally buzzing here in Austin with the Livestrong Challenge taking place. Thousands of cyclists took part in what I feel is one of the best rides of the year and I once again had a great time.  Austin also hosted the Texas Custom Bicycle Show this weekend with some amazing bike builders showing off their talent and incredible bikes.

Jessica Alexander captured the beauty at the custom bike show and we’d like to share some of these bicycle eye candy shots with you.  We’ll be featuring Jessica in an Austin Bike Culture photo post in the very near future….she’s a talented photographer with a huge love for the bike.  Keep an eye out for her featured post later this month.

2011 Texas Custom Bicycle Show

Livestrong Challenge

I was very happy to be a part of team Kollective Fusion for this year’s Livestrong Challenge.  The team raised $26,000 and created a lot of attention during yesterday’s ride.  Here’s just a couple of photos capturing the day.

Post ride photo with Chris and Jason from Team Kollective Fusion

He wasn't on the team, but I spent most of my ride with Dave

Team Kollective Fusion....most of the team