Bike daredevils, p.1
Bike Daredevils, page 1
Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
CHAPTER 1
A Balancing Act
CHAPTER 2
And for My Next Trick …
CHAPTER 3
Daredevils
CHAPTER 4
Leap of Faith
CHAPTER 5
Oh No!
EXTRA STUFF
• Bike Lingo
• Bike Must-dos
• Bike Instant Info
• Think Tank
• Hi Guys! (Author Letter)
• When We Were Kids
• What a Laugh!
Bike Daredevils
Felice Arena and Phil Kettle
illustrated by
David Cox
MACMILLAN
First published 2003 by
MACMILLAN EDUCATION AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
15–19 Claremont Street, South Yarra 3141
Reprinted 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 (twice), 2008, 2009
Visit our website at www.macmillan.com.au or
go directly to www.macmillanlibrary.com.au
Associated companies and representatives throughout the world.
Copyright © Felice Arena and Phil Kettle 2003
All rights reserved.
Except under the conditions described in the Copyright Act 1968 of Australia and subsequent amendments, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication data
Arena, Felice.
Bike daredevils.
For primary school children.
ISBN 978 0 7329 8954 5.
ISBN 978 0 7329 9178 4 (Set 1).
ISBN 0 7329 8954 X.
ISBN 0 7329 9178 1 (Set 1).
1. Cycling – Juvenile literature. I. Kettle, Phil. II.
Title. (Series: Arena, Felice. Boyz rule).
A823.3
Project management by Limelight Press Pty Ltd
Cover and text design by Lore Foye
Illustrations by David Cox
Printed in Hong Kong
These electronic editions published 2010 by
Macmillan Education Australia Pty Ltd
Level 1, 15 - 19 Claremont Street, South Yarra 3141
All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.
Boyz Rule! Bike Daredevils
Felice Arena & Phil Kettle
Adobe eReader ISBN
9781458610379
EPub ISBN
9781458610386
Mobipocket ISBN
9781458610393
Online ISBN
9781458610362
Macmillan Digital Australia
www.macmillandigital.com.au
Visit www.macmillan.com.au/primary to read more about all our books and to buy both print and ebooks online. You will also find subject catalogues, teacher support material and news of professional development events.
CHAPTER 1
A Balancing Act
In a quiet suburban street, best friends Josh and Con are casually riding their bikes around in circles on the grass in front of Con’s house.
Josh “What gear are you in?”
Con “Fourth. You?”
Josh “First. Can you balance on the spot without pedalling?”
Con “Yeah. Can you?”
Josh “Yeah, ’course!”
Con “How long can you do it for?”
Josh “Don’t know—probably about two minutes.”
Con “No way! That’s pretty long.”
Josh “No it’s not. Look, I’ll show ya! You time me.”
Con “I haven’t got a watch.”
Josh “Me neither. Just time me by saying ‘one Mississippi, two Mississippi’ …”
Con “What?”
Josh “When you say ‘one Mississippi’, it’s about one second.”
Con “Oh, like ‘one monkey-kneebone, two monkey-kneebone’ …”
Josh “Yeah—like that.”
Con “Okay. One Mississippi, two Missi …”
Josh “Not yet! Wait! Start counting when I say I’m ready.”
Josh stops pedalling his bike and gently squeezes his brakes until he rolls to a standstill. He stands up out of his seat, swaying from side to side, struggling to keep upright.
Josh “Now!”
Con “One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, four monkey-kneebone, five monkey-kneebone …”
Josh suddenly loses his balance and begins to fall.
CHAPTER 2
And for My Next Trick …
Josh sticks out his foot and slams it down on the ground, stopping himself and his bike from completely toppling over.
Con “That was only five seconds!”
Josh “You put me off by changing to ‘monkey-kneebone’!”
Con “So?”
Josh “So—I like ‘Mississippi’!”
Con “It shouldn’t make any difference—I’m the one counting.”
Josh “Yeah, well, it put me off. Let me do it again. But this time let’s pick a counting word we both like.”
Con “Okay. What about ‘one smelly-fart, two smelly-fart’ …?”
Josh “Or I know … ‘one snotty-nose, two snotty-nose’ …!”
Josh and Con snort and chuckle at each other, proud of their made-up, time-keeping words.
Con “Forget balancing. I’ve got a better idea. Let’s jump over a ramp!”
Josh “Yeah! Sick! But what ramp?”
Con “We’ll make one. Come on.”
The boys hop off their bikes and charge around to Con’s backyard. They return with a plank of wood and a couple of bricks. They make their ramp—placing one end of the wood on top of the two bricks.
Con “OK. I’ll go first.”
Con stands up out of his bike seat and frantically crunches down on his pedals. He sprints towards the ramp as if he’s an Olympic cyclist racing for the finishing line.
CHAPTER 3
Daredevils
Con makes it! He jumps off the ramp and rides back to Josh.
Con “Did you see that? It was unreal! I felt like I was flying. I got about a metre off the ground.”
Josh “No you didn’t. It was only a few centimetres.”
Con “No way! It was higher than that.”
Josh “In your dreams. My turn. Here goes! … Ladies, gentlemen and thrill-seekers, here comes the greatest stuntman in the world … the Amazing Josh!”
Con “You’re gonna jump a ramp, not make a rabbit disappear!”
Josh “Okay, then what should I call myself?”
Con “Nothing. Just jump!”
Josh “No, I have to have a name—like Evel Knievel!”
Con “Who?”
Josh “Evel Knievel! He was a famous daredevil motorbike rider when my dad was young. He used to jump over cars and stuff.”
Con “Cool!”
Josh “So maybe I could be ‘Evel Josh’ … nah, ‘Jumping Josh’ … or ‘Jumping Josh Flash’ …”
Con “How about ‘Hurry Up Josh’?”
Josh “I got it! ‘Jumping Josh Warrior’!”
Con “That’s it?”
Josh “Yeah! … And a sudden hush sweeps across the crowd as Jumping Josh Warrior prepares to take the leap of his life. Will he make it safely to the other side? No-one has ever attempted to jump over the Sydney Opera House before. This is going to be incredible … and here he goes.”
Josh rushes towards the ramp and sails over it easily. Con jumps again, then so does Josh. Both boys continue to ride over the ramp for several minutes.
Con “This is boring. We’ve got to jump over something that’s real. I know what!”
CHAPTER 4
Leap of Faith
Con rides his bike over to the side fence. Josh wonders what Con has in mind.
Josh “What are we gonna jump over?”
Con “You’ll see. Chico! Here Chico!”
Suddenly, an excited, little, white, fluffy dog appears from nowhere and runs to Con.
Josh “You’re not seriously going to jump over a dog?”
Con “Well, it’s not my dog—it’s from next door.”
Josh “But what if you miss?”
Con “I won’t! Look how small he is.”
Josh “Well I don’t think I can jump over him.”
Con “But you’re the amazing Jumping Josh Warrior!”
Con hops off his bike and picks up Chico. He takes the dog and places it only a few centimetres away from the other side of the ramp.
Con “Stay Chico! Don’t move. That’s a good boy. Stay!”
Con runs back to Josh and hops on his bike, ready to jump over his neighbour’s dog.
Josh “Poor little fella.”
Con “He’s gonna be okay! Just you wait and see. This is gonna be awesome—better than jumping over some fake opera house. … And there’s another hush from the crowd. They loved Jumping Josh Warrior, but now it’s Captain Courageous Con’s turn.”
Josh “You
Con suddenly pedals as fast as he can towards the ramp, while Chico wags his tail, unaware of what is about to happen to him.
CHAPTER 5
Oh No!
As the front tyre of Con’s bike makes contact with the ramp, Josh suddenly yells out.
Josh “Chico! Chico! Here boy!”
Chico jumps up and scampers over to Josh, just as Con tries to leap over the top of him. Josh lets out a huge sigh of relief and picks Chico up.
Con “What do you think you’re doing? I would’ve made it!”
Josh “No you wouldn’t. Look! Your back wheel hit the ground just where Chico’s head would’ve been.”
Con “Really?”
Josh “Yeah—Chico would’ve ended up being a Chico Roll!”
Con “Phew! That was lucky.”
Josh “Is there anything else we can jump over?”
Con “Um … Wait, I know!”
Con hops off his bike and runs into his house. He returns clutching an armful of dolls.
Josh “Dolls?”
Con “Yeah, my sister’s dumb dolls. We’ll line them all up. And who cares if we miss and land on them. Right?”
Josh “Cool!”
As Con and Josh prepare to leap over the dolls, Con’s sister suddenly appears and yells, “Con!! Don’t you dare or I’m telling Mum!!”
Con “You ready to go for it, Jumping Josh Warrior?”
Josh “You bet, Captain Courageous Con!”
Both boys rush towards the ramp. “MUM!!!!!!!!!!” screams Con’s sister.
Bike Lingo
axle The metal rod between the wheels that helps them to turn.
bike pump A tool used to pump up a flat tyre.
helmet Protects your head if you happen to fall off your bike.
pedals What you put your feet on to push the bike.
puncture A hole your bike tyre gets that makes the tyre go flat.
Bike Must-dos
Make sure you always put your helmet on before you ride your bike.
Remember to check the air pressure in your tyres.
If you ride through puddles, make sure you wash the mud off your clothes before you go home.
Learn how to fix punctures.
Make sure that you know the road rules before you ride in the streets.
If you want your bike to go faster, cut strips of cardboard and peg them to your wheel rims—the more wind you create in your spokes the more noise your bike will make and the faster it will go.
Always wear shoes. If your feet hit the ground and you haven’t got shoes on, you might not have any feet left.
If you’re riding on a path in a park, make sure you ring your bell when you see someone on the path.
The most important bike rule is: look left, look right, then go ahead with extreme care.
Bike Instant Info
The first pedal power pushbike was made in 1865. It was so rough that it was known as “the boneshaker”.
The first pushbike with solid rubber wheels was made in 1870.This was also the first bike to be called a bicycle.
In 1898 the first bike, that looks something like the bike that you ride today, was built.
The first bike race took place in 1868, over a distance of 1200 metres.
BMX racing first started in California in 1969.
The most famous bike race in the world is the Tour de France.
The highest bicycle bunny hop cleared a vertical bar of 116 centimetres.
The fastest bicycle speed ever recorded is 268.8 kilometres per hour. The bike was travelling behind a windshield.
The longest bicycle ever built was 25.9 metres.
The best bicycle in the world is the one that you own.
Think Tank
1 How do you make your bike go faster?
2 What side of the road do you ride on in Australia?
3 What side of the road do you ride on in America?
4 What do you call a bike that has three wheels?
5 What is a tandem bike?
6 What is the most famous bike race in the world?
7 Who is the best person in the world to fix a puncture on your bike?
8 Should you always wear a helmet when you ride your bike?
Answers
1 Peg cardboard strips on your wheel rims to make a bike go faster.
2 You ride on the left side of the street in Australia.
3 You ride on the right side of the street in America.
4 A bike with three wheels is called a tricycle.
5 A tandem is a bike with two seats and two sets of pedals.
6 The most famous bike race in the world is the Tour de France.
7 You are the best person to fix a puncture.
8 Yes, you should always wear a helmet.
How did you score?
• If you got 8 correct answers, then put on your bike helmet and go for a ride.
• If you got only 6 answers correct, maybe you should only ride in the park.
• If you didn’t get more than 4 answers correct, either keep practising or make sure you have a good pair of shoes for walking.
Hi Guys!
We have heaps of fun reading and want you to, too. We both believe that being a good reader is really important and so cool.
Try out our suggestions to help you have fun as you read.
At school, why don’t you use “Bike Daredevils” as a play and you and your best friend can be the actors. Set the scene for your play. What props do you need? Maybe a bike helmet, or just use your imagination to pretend that you are at the park and about to have a bike race with your friends.
So … have you decided who is going to be Josh and who is going to be Con? Now, with your friends, read and act out our story in front of the class.
We have a lot of fun when we go to schools and read our stories. After we finish the kids all clap really loudly. When you’ve finished your play your classmates will do the same. Just remember to look out the window—there might be a talent scout from a television station watching you!
Reading at home is really important and a lot of fun as well.
Take our books home and get someone in your family to read them with you. Maybe they can take on a part in the story.
Remember, reading is a whole lot of fun.
So, as the frog in the local pond would say, Read-it!
And remember, Boyz Rule!
When
We Were Kids
Phil “How did you make your bike go faster when you were a kid, Felice?”
Felice “I’d peg cardboard flaps to the rims of my back wheel.”
Phil “And did that make you go faster?”
Felice “Well, you have heard about cars with big exhaust pipes?”
Phil “Yeah.”
Felice “The louder the noise, the faster the car goes. The same went for my bike … still does.”
Phil “So did that work?”
Felice “Yep, most of the time. But if that failed, I’d use my mouth, as I pedalled, to go vrrrrrooooom!”
Felice Arena, Bike Daredevils
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