Chain Link Traverse

I rolled out past the dry fountain basin toward the park perimeter. A low steel chain-link fence base blocked the dirt path, where the galvanized bottom wire was pegged flat into a trench of loose grey gravel. The wire sagged right at tire height, bouncing back whenever the front rubber made contact. I set both boots down into the crushed rock to halt the bike. A discarded rusty bottle opener lay partially buried near a cedar post. I jammed the curved hook under the sagging wire, kicked the heavy metal handle deep into the gravel bed to anchor the tension downward, and eased forward. The knobby tires tracked squarely over the pinned wire into the open field beyond.