Riding the White Line

Simplicity

Blueberries and Cabbage Rolls

Early in Mick's bicycling forays, simplicity moved from concept to concrete reality. Spending long chunks of time each day in what is best known as drive-by and fly-over country, a bicyclist certainly has a few simple tasks to perform: going from A to B during the day; don't get lost; eat and hydrate enough; safety first; and find the best spot for the inconvenient bladder and bowel movements when facilities are not available. However, the most compelling simplicities come from those who live in those areas dear to them, but off the radar screen of the world.

To the north of the more industrious Thunder Bay, Canada on Lake Superior is the small town of Nipigon. In 2003, while raising funds for Habitat for Humanity affiliates around Lake Superior, Mick and his ride companion, Scott, rode along the Trans-Canadian highway deeper into bush country as the Canadians call it. They had the rock solid experience of a very typical Amethyst Rock Shop. Gas stations were few and far between, and the Esso Station was typical as well with its small diner. But the food they really feasted on that day was in the form of a talkative and humorous waitress named Maria. She was of Finnish origin and on her first day of work. If the bush is the respected king of all that is north of Lake Superior, then blueberries are its delightful queen. Eight miles short of Nipigon, Scott thankfully convinced Mick to stop again for a simple pleasure; fresh, as in from scratch, blueberry pie and ice cream.

The family lives in the first home built outside the original fort compound by the Hudson Fur Company as a boarding house. Kathy and Steve were slowly, yes - slowly, trying to renovate it into a bed and breakfast. For instance, the “insulation” in the thick walls is the original mixture of twigs, leaves, and birch bark. Their home was indeed homey, as in simply cluttered. Steve did many odd jobs besides renovating old cars; Kathy provided child care out of the home. A very simple lifestyle compared to most; it sure fit in well with the “out in the bush” look of Nipigon.

Habits and traditions honed through the generations seemed common in bush country. To their urban-lived surprise, Scott and Mick had arrived in the midst of the whole family engaged in the yearly making of the traditional Ukrainian cabbage rolls, which when frozen, would last throughout the entire winter. A cabbage roll is a mixture of meat, spices, and of course cabbage; Mick and Scott enjoyed the traditional meal with the family that evening. Kathy was nice enough to share the recipe with them; Mick tried it a couple months later on his family with less than favorable results.