Lately, since we have two young children, I've taken to riding for pleasure at night. And since the kids oftentimes protest bedtime, and it being summer and all, they finally settle down quite late. Missus Sisypyhus and I have some time to chat, and then off I go, into the dark.
Usually my rides don't take more than half an hour or so, just enough to cool down and take the edge off. We live in a pretty rural area, and this time of year the farmers are haying so the smell of freshly cut hay is nice, and booming through the occasional low-lying fog bank is exciting.
The Triumph is running extraordinarily well this season; not bad for a 30+ y.o. bike. I'm kind of glad I never got rid of it.
Another thing I've taken to is earplugs. On this bike in particular I think it's a good idea to wear them.
Tonight I figured I'd make it short, so I put the clear visor on and screamed off to the gas station. Lots of hills that drop off, curves that when you tip into them you know right away whether you got it or not, no traffic whatsoever. Sort of chilly, but not uncomfortably so.
So anyway, lately there've been rumors around about some hideous creature that makes the most godawful sounds. Like something being tortured or something, but no harm has been done to livestock or property, or anything. There are several animals missing. Most notably a donkey. That's a big animal to just go missing. Then the neighbor's dog disappeared, and of course the ubiquitous signs at the general store with missing cats, dogs, etc. Normally I would disregard any sort of nonsense like this but tonight I had a bit of an odd feeling. But I get those, so I brush them off. Until, of course, something happens and I think, "Fuck, why didn't I listen to myself!!"
I'm not going to post an entire boring video of my run to the gas station six miles away and back, but I will leave you all with this disturbing image of what I did see, as I came barreling out of one of my favorite corners that leads into a mile-long straight:
