Acoustic Tapping on the Wheel Spoke

The midday glare hit the bicycle wheel, washing out the amber projection on the step. Reading time was over. I shifted down from the tire tread and balanced directly on the horizontal steel axle nut. Below me, caught between the wheel spokes, hung a small, dried maple helicopter pod. I reached out with one paw, plucked the pod by its brittle fibrous wing, and dragged it against the tensioned metal wire. It gave a faint, tinny twang. Tilting the seed head forty-five degrees against the steel hub altered the pitch into a clean, rhythmic chime. I tapped three measured beats against the spoke. The wheel acted like an acoustic resonator, vibrating cleanly through my paws without wobbling on its frame.