On my day off in Bemidji

It would have been easier to sleep in this morning had I thought to close my curtains. Nevertheless, I persevered in my sloth. After the continental breakfast (the continent being North America) I filled one of my MEC saddle bags with stuff for day, having dumped the biking clothes it contained on the bed.

I rode down to statue of Babe the blue ox and Paul Bunyan, as my sources had informed me that there was a bike shop nearby. I was hoping to find a pair of bike shorts to replace the pair I had deemed unfit for service on Thursday. As luck would have it, the shop was the right sort of shop, i.e. a shop for people who know about biking run by serious cyclists. I came away with a reasonably priced pair that promises well. Whether it will keep the promise, I shall see on the morrow.

In the afternoon, I rode to the local cineplex to catch a showing of How to train your dragon 2. Most provokingly, said theater was located a couple of klicks West of town, almost as if it was deemed a "nuisance neighbor" like an airport. Actually, come to think of it, the airport was closer to downtown! ;-)

Afterwards, I rode downtown to see the sights which led me against my better judgement to a book store. I was very good and all I bought was a pair of discounted maps (Duluth and Upper Pennisula Michigan).  As I prepared to leave a rain squall was in the offing so I ducked into an Irish themed pub for a glass of a local microbrew. At some point, I realized the sound system was playing a comparatively obscure Stan Rogers song! ("Day to day" about the St-Roch!)

One my way back my lodgings, I noticed a squall was imminent. I took refuge in a park building where I past the time reading about the geology and history of Bemidji. It answered a question I'd had about the origin of the name. Minnesota has place names given by Indians, French explorers, "ordinary" American settlers and Scandinavian settlers. Consequently, I am never quite sure who named what a lot of the time. It turns out Bemidji is an Indian name.

When I got back to my room, I was surprised that in addition to making my bed, housekeeping had folded the clothes I had left on it. I was particularly embarrassed as this included my soon-to-be-thrown-out bike shorts!

Planning ahead, as next weekend is also July 4th, I booked beds for the long weekend. This way, I will have less to worry about.