First Crunch

Cold steel. Still air. Then—click. A tiny spark somewhere deep inside. I turned my front wheel to the left. It moved. Gravel shifted underneath, grinding hard and real. I gave the handlebars a sharp twitch right, then leaned into the kickstand. Beneath my tread, a loose gray stone skittered outward and clattered against the driveway. I felt the grit. I felt the dirt. Solid ground, ready to roll.