D.W. Rides Again (episode)

Summary
D.W. gets a new bike and needs to learn how to use it. Arthur teachers her the basics and after weeks of trial and error, she learns to ride by herself without training wheels in time for the bike-a-thon.

Plot
The episode begins with Arthur asking Mrs. Tibble to sponsor him in the Elwood City Bike-a-Thon. Timmy and Tommy Tibble then appear from under the floor boards and told him to go away, because Mrs. Tibble is sponsoring them. Mrs. Tibble says she can sponsor Arthur as well. Arthur thanks her and turns to leave, only to see that the Tibbles' tied his laces together.

Later, at the Read house, D.W. wants to go riding with Arthur and his friends, but Arthur says they can't go slow for her because they need to practice for the Bike-a-Thon and she got a triycle. D.W. insists on being in the race too but she realize she can't keep up with a triycle and the Tibbles tease her for not having a bike and not being in the Bike-a-Thon. Later, at dinner she serves her father some potatoes, her mother notices that she wants something, and asks her what she wants. When she tells her what she wants, the next day they go to the bike shop. D.W. sees the perfect bike and chooses it.

Later, Arthur teaches her the basics, but she wants her training wheels off. Her father takes the training wheels off, and D.W. falls off the bike. Her dad pushes the bike down the sidewalk and she falls in a trash can. Her parents are bandaging her cuts, and her father suggests he puts her training wheels back on for the race, and he'll teach her after. But she snatches her helmet, and goes back to her bike saying she can learn herself.

With Kate and Pal watching from the window they watch as she tries but crashes into garages, fences, and falls in wet puddles. Then she finally gets the hang of it with her can do spirit, and Kate and Pal are overjoyed. She finally rides in the race, proving to the Tibbles' she can ride a two wheeler. Then she sees a fancy red car, and asks her parents how old she has to be to drive a car.

Characters

 * D.W. Read
 * Arthur Read
 * David Read
 * Jane Read
 * Buster Baxter
 * Francine Frensky
 * The Brain
 * Timmy and Tommy Tibble
 * Mr. Sipple
 * Francis Haney
 * Mrs. Tibble
 * Kate Read
 * Pal
 * Sue Ellen Armstrong (cameo)
 * Binky Barnes (cameo)
 * Muffy Crosswire (cameo)

Trivia

 * When D.W. succeeds in riding the bike, she wore shorts instead of her normal dress. There may be a connection.
 * After giving the cabbage, Mr. Sipple runs to the left, but "Arthur and Los Vecinos" shows that his house is on the right side of theirs. This may be part of the ritual.
 * This is one of the three episodes that focus on bikes. The other two are "Binky vs. Binky" and "Arthur Changes Gears."

Episode connections

 * D.W. rides her bike again, but she doesn't ride it again until spring in Waiting for Snow.

Errors

 * When David asks Arthur to give D.W. a riding lesson, Brain is visible on-screen; yet when Arthur says, "But Dad, we have to practice." Brain can no longer be seen. Then when Francine says, "We're the best bike riders ever," Brain is visible once again.

Home video
VHS:
 * D.W. Rides Again