Bike and Hike to Breakfast stacks up to the hype

MYLEE WALKER reporter

The Edwardsville Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee hosted the first ever “Bike and Hike to Breakfast” offering up free food, and encouraging everyone to get outside this summer.

Mary Vandevora, an organizer of the event, said she was excited to have as many people there as they did.

“Over 600 people had registered online and there are several group rides that are planned to come into the event today, so we are anticipating a pretty big turn out,” Vandevora said.

Vandevora said The City of Edwardsville put the event together along with other local businesses to bring awareness of other ways of transportation aside from driving a car.

Many of the group walks went through historic parts of Edwardsville and the surrounding area. The St. Louis Street Historical Walk, in particular, had members of the city’s preservation committee talking about the history of St. Louis Street.

There were several other walking and biking groups that used the trails that wind through Madison County and Edwardsville. All the groups used the trails as a guide to downtown Edwardsville, where the Goshen Farmers Market was taking place.

As the attendees arrived they were greeted by free pancakes supplied by Chris Cakes, a pancake shop in St. Louis.

SIUE Admissions had a booth at the farmers market. Mario McCart and Scott Belobrajdic were the representatives from the office. McCart said he believes that events like this bring visibility to cycling in the community that could benefit students who want to be more environmentally conscious.

“I definitely think it will be a great benefit. The students can rent bicycles on campus and they can drive downtown,” McCart said, “Or biker, you can take the trails all the way to St. Louis. It tunity to reduce fossil fuels and this event shines a Steve Parks, a participant of the 40-mile bike by — said that he was excited to see that the well attended.

“It’s phenomenal, and it is cold today so I’m a little shocked it’s as filled as it is.” Parks said.

Vadevora said the promotion of sustainable transportation and getting to know the city of Edwardsville by walking or biking through it was something that she hoped many of the attendees would remember throughout the summer.

“Our goal is to increase the appreciation of biking and to create a bike culture in Edwardsville,” Vandevora said.

Stopping while ahead, other life lessons to be found at pottery class

Pottery, to a historian, is something to study, not an object to make, but I stepped outside my comfort zone and took a wheel-throwing class. I learned both a new craft and a couple of life lessons.

I am not known to be a creative person, but one of my resolutions this year was to do more things that scare me. One of the ways I wanted to push boundaries was to do more solo activities, and SIUE’s continuing education department allowed me to go outside my skill set and try a wheel-throwing pottery class at the Macoupin Art Collective.

The class is $40 for three hours where you can make three to four bowls. The MAC is a wonderful non-profit organization, located 30 minutes away from campus in Staunton, Illinois.

I paid for the class out of pocket, and while $40 can feel like a lot for a college student, I really enjoyed my time and don’t regret spending the money. The class started at 6 p.m. I arrived a few minutes early and I looked around while the instructor finished setting up the wheels. The MAC isn’t a big space, but it is chock-full of craft supplies. Nearly all the supplies are donations from the community, and for $5 an hour, customers can use any of the supplies to create to their heart’s content.

Soon, the other students for the pottery classes trickled in. A mom and two of her daughters, as well as an older woman, were the other students, which made the class fun conversation-wise. The mom and her daughters were chatty, telling stories and making the class feel less intimidating, even though all three were quite good at pottery. The younger daughter explained that she had just finished a pottery unit in her high school art class, and the older daughter said she had taken a similar art class a few years ago while on vacation. The older woman was on a similar skill level as me and we joked together about our misshapen pots.

At the start of class, Ruthie Jean Kahl, who led the class, showed us how to center the clay on the wheel and various shaping techniques. She walked us through how to keep the walls steady, as you widened the opening in the clay, and how to raise the edge of the clay while keeping it stable. The majority of the class was figuring out what worked best for you, and one of the biggest lessons the other students and I talked about was taking your hands off when it looks good, and accepting it as done. I had the tendency to have a good pot, but then I kept messing with it and it would collapse on me.

As someone who has a hard time accepting things as neutral, I want to assign them a value of good or bad. Pottery was a good lesson of simply accepting things as they are sometimes. My worth was not attached to how good or goofy my pottery looked. I was more about taking the step to try something new.

I live alone, work alone at two of my jobs and generally spend quite a bit of time by myself. While I don’t mind it, I didn’t realize the impact of being part of a community would have on my mental health. The class was on a Friday night after a hard week, and being able to sit and keep my hands busy while listening to people chat together and support each other made my heart feel just a bit lighter than it had before.

The instructor allowed me to work past the time allotted on the wheel as we still had to glaze and clean up, and the other class members and I worked together to clean up and had a really great conversation while working on our craft.

We worked on our pot tery on the wheel for about two hours and spent the last hour working on glazing our projects. Glazing is the process of essentially painting the semi-dried clay with a paint-like substance to seal it and make the clay food-safe. I choose to do a couple of my favorite colors —green, brown and lilac— on my very wonky bowls. I won’t be able to see the finished product for about two weeks because the clay has to dry and be fired in the kiln.

I am grateful to have the financial means to spend three hours and $40 on a class, but I am even more grateful that we have opportunities like this in our local area. To find more opportunities like this, go to SIUE continuing education website, or for more art classes, visit the

Whether that be going on a road trip to the beach or staying home and having a bonfire with friends, here are 20 songs for whatever you find yourself doing this summer.

“AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM” (feat. Kendrick Lamar) Beyoncė

Released recently, this song definitely deserves to be played at any point in your summer. Kendrick’s verse on the song has an unexpected goofiness to it that perfectly fits the song.

“Everybody Wants To Rule The World” Tears for Fears

This song is the quintessential “windows down driving maybe a little too fast” song. Listening to this song just makes you feel like you’re the main character in any indie movie.

“The Chain” Fleetwood Mac

If you aren’t screaming this song with your friends while driving down a back road, your summer is not complete.

“HEATED” Beyonce

Summer would not be complete without at least one Beyonce song. This song is perfect for singing with friends and laughing while you mess up the words.

“Flowers in Your Hair” The Lumineers

This folky song is perfect for when you are pretending to be the main character while running through a field and getting eaten alive by the mosquitoes.

“Breezeblocks” alt-J

Alt-J makes amazing songs to play throughout your summer, but this song is perfect for riding your bike or kayaking with your friends

“Feels like Summer” Childish Gambino

It for sure feels like summer now! This song is perfect for days, as Gambino says, when you want to slow down.

“Homesick” Noah Kahan

For those of you who traveled home to small towns, it’s easy to start missing your campus lives. This song is a good reminder that you don’t have to love your hometown and still remember it shaped you into who you are.

“Super Rich Kids” Frank Ocean, Earl Sweatshirt

Super Rich Kids is for when you have nothing better to do so you’re just lazing about the house waiting for one of your friends to text you about going to get ice cream.

“Reelin’ In The Years” Steely Dan

Another pool day song, this song is perfect for when you’ve been outside all day, you aren’t completely sober and you need a nap. It’s like “Freebird” but for cooler people.

“Doo Wop (That Thing)” Lauryn Hill

There’s a reason that she won five Grammys for this album. This song is perfect for when your windows are down and you are just driving around town.

“The Spins” Mac Miller

This song should be your “song of the summer” at least once in your life. It’s a common theme in this playlist, but it is also perfect for driving around.

“Brazil” Declan McKenna

This soft song with amazing vocals is perfect for a summer picnic or bonfire with friends or family.

“Breezeblocks” alt-J

Alt-J makes amazing songs to play throughout your summer, but this song is perfect for riding your bike or kayaking with your friends

“The Boys Of Summer” Don Henley

This song is the perfect reminder that summer doesn’t last forever, so you might as well make it a good one!

“Ms. Jackson” Outkast

Perfect for when you are wandering around town with your friends trying to figure out what you want to do with the rest of the daylight.

“Doses & Mimosas” Cherub

This electro-indie song is perfect for a dance party with your friends after a long day on the lake or beach.

“Dog Days Are Over” Florence + The Machine

This indie rock song is perfect to play while you’re watching the sunset. If you’re feeling extra energetic, feel free to get up and run when the chorus plays a second time.

“Summertime Sadness” Lana Del Ray

Being named after summer, this song definitely deserves a spot on the playlist. Yet another song perfect for listening to with the windows down and you are driving around aimlessly with your friends while lamenting about how terribly your hot girl summers are going.

To listen to this playlist and others, check out The Alestle’s Spotify!