I was in the middle of nowhere yesterday. 

Like the middle of nowhere. 

I went for a big, extra-long ride. 

The weather for the next day was 100% rain. 

I was at a spot where I made my ‘okay, head back home.’  

I turned around.

Coming up the road was a cyclist. 

I was surprised.

I have never seen another cyclist ‘back here.’ 

I waited for him to round the corner. 

He got closer.

We realized at the same time that we knew each other. 

Go figure. 

Funny, I don’t think you could ask to meet a better person in ‘the middle of nowhere.’ 

Just a great, interesting, and positive guy. 

Off we went. 

Riding. 

Talking. 

Him showing me some great ‘secret’ roads to ride. 

Me trying my best to return the favour. 

There was one thing that we both noticed. 

Argh, there were a few dead animals on the road. 

We mentioned that we were both glad we had never seen an animal get hit. 

It came time to part ways. 

We said our goodbyes, and off we went. 

A half-hour later, I was on my own, on a road on my own. 

I could see some movement ahead on the road. 

As I got closer, I realized what I was coming upon. 

It was a Raccoon. 

A big one. 

…It had been hit by a car. 

It was still alive. 

But it shouldn’t be. 

It was dragging itself across the road. 

…Sorry. 

I kind of closed my eyes and rode by. 

Once I passed, I opened them again and came to a complete stop. 

I did not turn around. 

I did not know what to do. 

But I kind of did. 

But I knew I could not. 

It had to be put out of its misery. 

It had perhaps twelve hours of painful HELL in front of him/her. 

I don’t know how long I stayed like this. 

I started to hear a loud engine. 

Around the corner came one of those massive John Deere Tractors. 

The ones you need a ladder to get into. 

The ones with wheels that dwarf you. 

The ones that take two lanes. 

He came to a stop. 

‘Tout va bien?’ he asked. 

‘Je ne sais pas quoi faire?’ I responded as I nodded with my head behind me. 

He looked. 

I could tell when his face changed that he saw what I was referring to. 

He turned around in his seat and got something from behind him. 

He began to climb out. 

‘Merci beaucoup mon ami’ I said to him as I started to pedal away. 

I loudly hummed a song to drown out the ‘bang.’ 

An hour later, I rode past a big open field. 

That big green tractor was in the middle of it. 

I stopped and waited for him to get closer. 

I put my hand on my heart and mouthed ‘Merci Beaucoup.’ 

He gave me a thumbs-up and went back to ploughing. 

‘Some rides will stay with you forever.’ 

Insert a tractor and a heart emoji here. 

‘There is another way to ride.’