Riding In A Yellow Submarine

I'm not a fan of science fiction or books, films or TV programs about paranormal phenomena.  In spite (or maybe because) of that, one of my favorite TV programs of all time is The X Files, which ran from 1993 to 2002.  I mean, what's not to like about a program about two FBI agents--one of whose belief in the paranormal may have been influenced by his sister's claimed alien abduction, and the other a medical doctor and skeptic who is nonetheless a devout Roman Catholic.  I guess that's what I liked best about it:  I never would have envisioned such characters, but I found them--and, more important, their relationship, which changes over time--interesting and believable.

I got to thinking about that because, lately, there seem to be more reports than usual of unidentified objects. Perhaps the Russian invasion of the Ukraine has something to do with it:  Such as a conflict could escalate too easily, and who knows what kind of weapons might be sent where, and what they might look like.

Turns out, you don't have to look to the sky or even the sea for objects that, to someone, might look as if they pose a threat to national or international security.  At night, on the side of a lonely road, one might find--a yellow submarine? 

Or a spaceship?  That's what one driver thought, for a moment, he saw along US 41 on Florida's west coast.  

The spaceship/submarine was, of course, a recumbent bicycle:  one in which you ride in a semi-supine position.  I have never tried one myself, for the very reason the driver and investigating officer mentioned:  They can be difficult to see, especially in traffic.  I would like to try one some day because I can see the advantages of such a bike for certain kinds of time trials or land speed records--or for people who have the strength and endurance to pedal for long distances and periods of times but, because of injuries or infirmities, may have trouble mounting or straddling a more traditionally-configured bicycle. 

What made the bicycle really strange, I think, was the fairing, which is most likely for aerodynamics.  But if I ever try a recumbent, I'm not sure I'd want to ride with a fairing for the same reason I have no desire to get into a submarine, even if one of my favorite bands has sung that we're in one whether we like it or not!