Stolen Ideas Gone Weird

The past two years saw Mary and I riding to Johnston, Iowa, to visit my mother.  She lived alone in an apartment and we needed to make sure she took her meds, had something to eat, give her company and in general see that she was OK.  It was kinda like having a toddler 11 miles away in its own apartment.  I think she liked to mess with us.  I called this the Great Johnston Bike Lift.  Mary would be there almost twice a day.  My sister, Patty, was there everyday as well.  So Mary and I had a lot of time on the Trestle to Trestle Trail.

One night as we rode back to our home in  Little Italy I had a bad thought.  We were on a particularly dark section of trail surrounded by trees when this thought occurred.  What if there were clowns out there hiding behind the trees.  What if we dressed as scary clowns, hid behind trees and jumped out at cyclists at the last moment at night?  People would literally defecate their pants.  I found this humorous and spoke this to Mary and my family.  Our oldest child, Katie, thought that was a bad idea.  'Dad, that's why people have concealed weapons permits."  True.  I would be laughing so hard I'd be paralyzed as the "victim" would regain composure and beat the life out of me, laughing as the blows hit and I lay bleeding to death.  So I gave up on the idea. 

Distant memory until last night.  We left Sully's and were heading to Mullets after 9 pm and taking the Bill Riley Trail.  As we approached the bridge spanning the Raccoon River at Water Works Park I noted that there were bicycles on the bridge.  I was hoping for friendlies.  It was dark as summer is almost over.  

Sure, there were two bicycles on the bridge but the riders, now dismounted were wearing scary clown masks and laughing.  We laughed back and rode on.  Once on the road Mary suggested that we need to go back and have her photo taken with them.  One of her co-workers is deathly afraid of clowns.  Good idea!.  We turned around for the photo.

They were more than happy to oblige the photo request and even offered me a beer.  Sam Adams Octoberfest.  Damn, that time of year again but a good beer.  We stayed long enough to watch them in action but the effect was probably ruined by our presence.  Still a good time.

You just never know what you will find on the trail!