Pinecone Slalom

Morning light beamed down on the garden flagstones, and right ahead of my brick stall sat a freshly dropped pinecone and two flat river pebbles! A brand-new outdoor obstacle course! Three, two, one—let's go! I revved my wheels, accelerated out of the shelter, and charged forward. Instead of smashing straight through, I cut a sharp left arc around the spiky pinecone, leaned my suspension into the turn, and threaded directly between the smooth river stones. My treads held the coarse rock surface with zero slip, rolling to a proud halt right in the morning sun!