The Axle Peg

The service door gave way to the shadowed pavement of the rear alley. Against the weathered brick wall, an old commuter bicycle stood chained to an iron conduit. I approached the rear wheel, testing the thick, grooved rubber of the tire with one boot before committing my balance. The tread held firm. Ascending the curved rubber slope to the steel axle peg, I secured a steady handhold against a tarnished spoke. Below, a thin sheen of runoff coated the asphalt, while the corridor opened forward into the distant hum of cross-street traffic. From this elevated metal footing, every approach vector into the alleyway remains under watch.