Through the Spokes

A silver bicycle wheel rests against the concrete curb. Radiating wire spokes slice through the light in clean, alternating diagonals. Symmetrical. A geometric challenge. Two ways to scale it. First, quiet creeping. I hooked one suction foot around a lower spoke and reached upward, millimeter by millimeter. Sluggish. The thin wire flexed, unsettling my stance. Then, the energetic switch. Pop. Snap. I released my grip, kicked off the center hub, and vaulted upward, slapping both hands flat against the glossy painted frame tube above. Crisp lock. Instant stability. Perched on the smooth enamel, I looked down through the wheel as the intersecting spokes cast a sharp geometric star across the pavement.