Ride With Me – Hunting for Cultures

On what felt like the first Summer-like day this year (have I been here this long?) it was a wise decision to take the day off and get some stuff done that I’ve been procrastinating. It ended up being an odyssey, taking most of the day, with many eventful turns. As bad as it got at times, for some reason (the unusually warm and sunny weather, duh!) I remained calm and happy at all times, enjoying even the failures and moments of despair. But let’s go step by step.

Still, I didn't manage to import a map, but I marked the location of Steemit World Maps. Follow my trip here:

[//]:# (!steemitworldmap 48.463932 lat -123.469086 long d3scr)

The Mission

I wanted to find some tibicos, a.k.a. water-kefir, to start making the same delicious soft-drinks as in Mexico. I’d have healthy, probiotic soda-pop to enjoy myself, share with others, teach people how to make them, and along with the word I’d spread the cultures. The only thing I need are the so called “grains” (though the culture is a symbiosis of various bacteria and yeasts, so it couldn’t be any further from grains).

The other culture I was trying to get was spirulina, similarly with the aim of setting up a home cultivator. My friend Ryan is a fish-tank enthusiast, so the procedure would be nothing new to him. In fact, he just may have everything he needs right at home, except for the culture of course.

Bringing them with me from home was out of question, as introducing live cultures into the country could have resulted and heavy fines, but worst of all, the customs officials would have destroyed them too. So I set out on my bike, full of optimism, with the mission to find some cultures here. Cycling around town seemed like a good idea in this beautiful weather, and in the end it was really the sunshine that saved the day.

Cycling Across Downtown

I had a list of options people had recommended me. They were mostly health-food stores, or places where they sell natural food supplements or other probiotics, such as kombucha. My first stop took me to downtown Victoria, where the organic supermarket Market on Yates street came highly recommended. “What's Spirulina?” said the manager as I inquired if they had any. I explained, but he whisked me off quickly, recommending their other branch Market on Millstream, out in Langford, about 15 km from Victoria. Supposedly they had a huge health-food section, and sure enough, that place was already on my list.

Before heading out of town, I stopped by a place another friend had told me about, that he bought some tibicos there some time ago: The Nourish Kitchen on the corner of Quebec st. and Pendry st. It’s a lovely café that also sells all kinds of interesting food, but they didn’t have any of the stuff I was looking for. Though they admitted that at one point they had it, and may soon have some again, within the next couple moths or so. Nice try. Though I did enjoy the ride there, as the plum trees are in bloom at the moment, lining the streets in gorgeous pink blossoms.

Another address that proved to be a miss was the Lifestyle Market on Douglas street. This health-food store was just crunching from all the granola and quinoa. I talked to a friendly sales assistant, her polite supervisor, and their apologetic manager, all trying really hard to help me, even though they couldn’t. They suggested I try Market on Yates. Not going back...

Catching the Goose out of Town

Having ticked all other places off my list, I decided to cycle out to Langford, but first stop by Recyclistas to update my map, as I can only do that where I have WiFi. On the way I just had to stop and take some pictures. The snow-topped peaks in the distance can only be seen on a clear day like this. Never mind the failed attempts, I was thinking to myself, as I reveled in the spectacular view of the Olympic Mountains on the way to the bike shop. The Olympic Peninsula lies just across the Straight of Juan de Fuca, across the border, in the State of Washington. That’s where my long distance bike-trip is going to take me in September, towards California...

At Recyclistas, one of the mechanics suggested two other places where I might find some of the cultures I was looking for. Since they were both downtown, I decided to stop by there on the way back, and hopped on the Galloping Goose. This bicycle path, built on an old railroad line, goes pretty far out of Victoria, and is completely free from motorist traffic. Of course there were plenty of other cyclists, joggers, skateboarders, dog-walkers, etc. so it did have traffic of it’s own. Still, the difference is incomparable.

Unexpected Long-cuts

Rolling along the Goose was so relaxing, that I completely forgot where I was supposed to turn, and zipped right by my turn-off. When I noticed, I wanted to find another way, and decided to take a path across the Thetis Lake Regional Park, which my bike map indicated as bike-friendly. What a great idea it was! Beautiful scenery, people with their dogs, and a trail that was becoming more and more a mountain-bike challenge. As much as I normally would have enjoyed each of these factors, I decided to turn back after about half an hour. Getting lost in the woods is nice and all, but I wanted to get to that store...!

In an underpass under the highway I found some amazing murals. As indicated by the sign, they were a community mural project by Morgan MacAulay and the children of the nearby Chilco and Atkins Roads. To me they look a bit more psychedelic than children oriented, though I’m sure the kids enjoy the funny creatures of the forest. I certainly love the bear and bees, and most definitely all the crazy looking mushrooms!

Machine Problems

Just around the time I was entering the town of Langford, I noticed something unnerving: one of my pedals was loose. I used my hands to give it a strong twist, as I didn’t have a pedal wrench on me, but I knew that wouldn’t last very long. Fortunately, there was another bike-shop just on the way. By the time I made it there, my pedal was close to falling off. The guys at the shop were helpful enough to let me use their wrench, but told me that it looked like the threads on the crank arm might be stripped. This was confirmed as I could not tighten the pedal.

Not wanting to risk getting stranded in the middle of nowhere, I decided to take a break and make an action plan. Right where I was, a neat looking mall called Goldstream Village offered an opportunity to sit down for a coffee and WiFi. I locked my bike, studied the map, and tried to call the mechanic who built my bike, who is also a good friend of mine. But mostly I just enjoyed sitting in the sun on the porch of the café. As my calls remained unanswered, I left my bike locked by the café, and walked the remaining kilometer to the health-food store. Not surprisingly, they didn’t have either of the two cultures I was looking for, though the manager assured me she would investigate and get back to me by phone. Let's hope...

Getting Back in the Saddle

As I returned to my bike I got the reply to my plea for help: “Take the bus back!” Simple, but logical: since the buses here are equipped with a bike rack on the front, I could easily return to Victoria. And due to a twist of luck there was even a bus-stop just a five-minute walk from Recyclistas. There I fixed the bike and in no time I was back on the bike with a newly installed (though second-hand) crank arm. My next stop was Phillips Brewery on Government Street, where I picked up some of their delicious Pilsners. On the way there I passed by another awesome mural. There is another, much cooler one on the other side of the same building, but I have to get back there later, as it was blocked by some parked vehicles.

Before riding home, I wanted to give a last chance to those two places I was told about at the bike-shop. The first one called Ageless Living Market was a health-food store, not unlike Lifestyle Market or Market on Yates. The other one an herbal supplement store, called Self-Heal Herbal Centre. Neither of them had any cultures, though at the second one I got to chat with the sales lady, and she looked up tibicos on the Internet. Most interestingly, she even found someone offering some tibicos grains, on a site called used.ca the local equivalent of Craig’s List. Best of all, they were not selling it, but offering to trade it for raw honey, jam, or some other home-made treat. How amazing! At last my search was successful! I pedaled home as fast as I could, to look up the site myself, and get in contact with this “seller”.

Throwing in the Towel

As I got home, I told Ryan and Cordelia about my adventures, most excitedly about the last part. I knew she made jams and other such products, and would be happy to hear about this great opportunity. Imagine the let-down when she told me she had already contacted them, and they told her that they used to have tibicos… but don’t have them any longer. She even told me that her dissertation she is writing at the moment deals among other things with this issue: that in order to find cultures, you have to know someone, as they are not sold in stores or markets. But what can you do? Clearly, build up a network, and share! Somebody is bound to have some water-kefir grains, and if you know that by freezing them you can preserve them indefinitely, they should never have to die on you.