These two quotes capture my feelings about Memphis. I've lived here for nine years, and it definitely took a while to grow on me. Now, I love it, and part of learning to love the city was about getting out in it on my bike. It has also improved hugely in the past few years.

Yes, the city has a high crime rate. The violent crime is largely confined to neighborhoods I don't frequent. Property crime is wide-spread though. Everyone we know has an alarm on the their house. Poverty rates are very high here and our educational system has become a political pawn in a power struggle between the city and its suburbs. (Disclosure: I have very, very little sympathy for the concerns of the suburbs.)

On the other hand, Mid-town and East Memphis are wonderful. Great grocery stores and specialty food shops, restaurants and other shopping, public spaces and parks. There's a wonderful greenline leading from Midtown out to the suburbs. Riverside drive used to be a four-lane divided road, but now the western two lanes have been permanently closed to traffic and serve as a protected bike/pedestrian path. One of the bridges across the Missisissippi is being converted into a bike path that will connect Riverside drive in Memphis to Main Street in West Memphis (a city on the Arkansas side of the river).

I love the people here. I love the culture, which is much more industrial, gritty, bluesy delta culture than the more Bible-belt and country music culture of other parts of the south. I embrace the challenges, and no longer think of them as "what is wrong with Memphis." Now they are my problems too, and I want to be part of working out the answers.

So, I don't want to give the impression that this is a perfect place. But I do think it is a good place, and becoming an awesome one, especially with respect to biking.