Rose had just learned to ride a motorbike. She had now taken the bike home, and is ready to take it out for the first time alone.
Rose’s bike is new to her, but it is not a new bike. It has been at the garage having repairs done before she sets off by herself.
Rachel has had a bike for a few months. She helps Rose manoeuvre it out of the house, bump down the step and slide down the ramp! It’s almost ready to go.
Rachel (still dressed in her indecent zebra pyjamas and flip flops) goes out to watch Rose go off on her bike. Rose tries to kick start it a few times, but after she’s started it, it shudders to a stop. Rachel thinks that having an audience is not helping Rose, so she goes back into the house to finish her tea.
A few seconds later, Rachel hears Rose at the door. “I can’t get the bike started,” Rose says. Rachel (still in pyjamas) goes back out to see what she can do to help.
A boy, aged about 11, comes along and tries to help. He is wearing big green wellies, with big cuts down the sides of them. His wellies are too big for him, so he takes them off, goes on the bike and tries to start the bike. Vroom, vroom, vroom... but the bike does not start.
Rachel decides to have a go (despite the fact that she has only once successfully kick started a bike, under careful direction and supervision from an expert). She goes back into the house, puts her socks and walking boots on, and comes back out to help start the bike. One attempt... no good. Two attempts... no good. Third attempt... the bike starts! She keeps the revs high while Rose climbs on. Rose gets into gear... then the bike stops! Oh no!
Rachel suggests that they move the bike around to better angle, so that Rose can take off in a straight line. They move the bike round. Rachel gets back on the bike again but it doesn’t start. The boy gets back on the bike again but it doesn’t start. Rose gets back on the bike again but it doesn’t start. Oh no!
A gate creaks open, and out comes Damien, another volunteer. “Hello,” says Damien. “Are you having trouble starting the bike?” Rachel and Rose explain the problems they’ve been having, and Damien suggests that they have flooded the engine (whatever on earth that means!) and should put the throttle back in.
A neighbour appears on his bike, and Rose calls him over. “Can you help us fix the bike?” she asks. He comes over to look at the bike.
Rose, Rachel, the boy, Damien and the neighbour all look at the bike.
By this point, Rachel is very late. It is 8.45 and she needs to be at a school at 9am. The school is 25mins ride away, and Rachel is still wearing her indecent zebra pyjamas.
“I’m going in to have a shower,” Rachel says. “Thank you for all your help,” says Rose.
Rachel goes in, has a super quick ice cold shower, and wanders into the living room, wearing a couple of towels and brushing her teeth. The door opens.
“We need to borrow your spark-plug-fixer (of course this is not quite what she said, but I’ve not got a clue what she was actually after!), my toolkit’s missing from my bike,” say Rose. She and Damien come into the house. Rachel, still clad in towels, and with toothpaste all over her mouth, gets her moto key and shows Damien where to get the tools from in the side of the bike. Rose takes the tools from Rachel and goes to fix her bike.
Damien and Rachel then try to get the side of the bike back on. They clip the first bit in, but then the second bit won’t fit. They put the second bit in, but then the first bit won’t clip on. They turn the key, but still the side won’t go back in the moto. (Rachel’s towel very nearly falls right off.) Damien says, “I’ve got to go to work now, sorry!” Damien leaves and Rose returns with the tools. “They don’t work,” says Rose. Rose and Rachel finally manage to get the side back on the side of the bike (who needs men?!) and Rachel is finally able to get dressed.
She gets ready really quickly while Rose phones the mechanic and asks him to come to the house. The neighbour, Jacob, helps Rose take the bike back into the house.
Rachel is finally ready to leave. She fixes everything onto the back of her bike, collects her helmet, jacket, gloves and key, and goes to set off. She puts the key into the ignition, tries to turn it... and it won’t turn. (By this stage it must be 9.15 and Rachel is really late!) This happened to her friend before. Sometimes when you take the side off the bike, the key gets bent in the lock and won’t fit into the ignition properly.
Rachel goes back into the house, finds the hammer and hammers the key so that it is totally straight again. Finally she is ready to go!
Rose waits in the house, and the mechanic comes and collects her bike. It gets fixed.
And they all lived happily ever after.
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