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Written by Natalie Scarlett
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 As one can learn from the article in our Tour de Fat Matterhorn, Minneapolis is the second most bike friendly city in the nation, and I would venture to guess that that is the only category the are second in.
I love Minneapolis for the following reasons:
1. I love cities built around water. Minneapolis grew and prospered because of the naturally occurring waterfall that provided hydroelectric power to the grain mills. Trains would bring wheat in from the Dakotas over a beautiful stone arch bridge (now open to pedestrians and cyclists) where it would be ground and shipped all around the country. Perched atop the Guthrie Theatre's lookout one can see the historic flour mills still standing proudly next to the Mississippi River. As a theatre nerd my visit to the Guthrie was practically a pilgrimage. I saw first hand evidence of downtown redevelopment in the Old Mill district where there is a push to bring the city back to its roots, back to being a river city, by recharging the area around the water. Though the Mississippi is still a baby river as it flows by Minneapolis, it's power is still palpable and one can't avoid it as a vital part of Northern history.
2. I love any community that supports the arts. Minneapolis has several permanent galleries, sculpture gardens, and museums. Highlights for me were the Guthrie Theatre's huge performance space, built in 2006 by french architect Jean Nouvel, the Walker Art Center's new exhibit curated by John Waters, and the famous sculpture garden. On another note, breakfast at Al's in Dinkytown was the perfect beginning to the day. As far as the music scene goes, Charlie Parr, Trampled by Turtles, and U2 played at Minneapapalooza the weekend we were in town. To top it all off, St. Anthony Main movie theater hosted a Bicycle Film Festival. So many cool events 'round these parts!
3. I love good Midwestern folks. These people are the best sort, hands down. The city itself is clean, there are churches with urban gardens growing right next to them, and the car drivers are polite to bikes and each other.
Overheard in Minneapolis:
"I've always thought of Omar from "The Wire" as a modern day Achilles"
—A young man in a pink polo shirt with popped collar at Brit's pub
"I've got ninety-nine problems but our books ain't one"
—Natalie during a pre-show thunderstorm, under a tarp keeping the books away from the elements
"The fireflies are going into hyper-drive!"
—Aaron driving down a country road at dusk as the fireflies begin to light up
"So what's so holy about shit?"
—A guy who saw our Gene Logdons posters in the portajohns
"I'd rather push my Ford than drive a Chevrolet"
—Aaron quoting Minnesota's legendary banjo player, Charlie Parr
"This is what's wrong with the world: you've got a sports car with an automatic transmission"
—A parking lot attendant in the scathing documentary of car culture, The Parking Lot Movie, which everyone should see
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