Pedal Drop

I slipped out through the front screen door and hit the sunlit concrete driveway, aiming straight for the red bicycle leaning against the porch rail. That low black pedal was hanging right at my eye level like an open invitation. I backed up two paces, sprinted, and launched myself onto the textured rubber tread with both sneakers. My weight sent the pedal swinging downward with a heavy metallic clunk, spinning the chain into a rhythmic whir-click-click! I bent my knees, absorbed the drop, and rode the momentum all the way to the bottom of the stroke before springing off onto the cool pavement.