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Bicycling and the arts

At most daily newspapers, Friday is the most nerve-racking day of the week because you are not only working on Saturday's paper, you're doing work on the Sunday and Monday papers as well. That's why it's good every once in a while to have a Friday off.

I took advantage of the day to do a 40-mile ride on the trails of Madison County. I started in Maryville on the Schoolhouse Trail, took the Glen Carbon Heritage Trail to Silver Creek and back to Glen Carbon, took the newly paved Nickel Plate Trail to Edwardsville, took the Madison County Nature Trail to Horseshoe Lake State Park, then returned to Maryville on the Schoolhouse Trail.

I felt the effects of not spending enough time on the bike this month -- because of work related to the Tour de Stooges and some poor weather -- and a sudden upward surge in temperatures. What should have been an easy 40 miles was tougher because my body had to make adjustments to the warmer temperatures. I usually don't have a great ride on a day with a sudden rise in temperature because it takes a day or two for me to adjust my hydration levels.

Fans of ice cream will be happy to know that a Culver's restaurant recently opened along the Schoolhouse Trail in Collinsville near Illinois Route 157. Culver's is a Wisconsin-based chain best known for its ButterBurgers and frozen custard. Culver's was hoping to get direct access to the Schoolhouse Trail, but Madison County Transit has said no so far. I can somewhat see why MCT may not want to give direct access to a business, but perhaps MCT can find a way to connect to a Collinsville street so cyclists can easily access the restaurant. Culver's plans to install a bike rack for the convenience of cyclists who want to grab a bite to eat.

After the ride, I went to Belleville's Art on the Square festival. I was pleasantly surprised to see several people from the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society there: Christine Warta, Bob and Dixie Guenther, Charlie and Helen Warner and Dave Weidler. I didn't have as much time to see as much art as I had hoped, but I still have today to soak it all in. From what I saw, there's plenty of great art, so I would encourage you to pay a visit.

Also, I saw my friend Anne Betten from the Illinois Employment and Training Center office in Belleville. Anne and Sue Tyler are assigned there by Southwestern Illinois College to assist people searching for work, and I volunteer there two or so hours a week assisting people with operating a computer or writing resumes. Anne's mother, Loretta Roberts, has her watercolors at the show, and the Belleville News-Democrat wrote about Loretta's work in Thursday's edition.

Roger 0 comments 10:31 AM