gina's bike

When Gina's brother Bobby returned from Iraq, six months later, he found her bike in his dad's garage. It was not love at first sight. He thought the bike was ugly as hell. However he was curious as to why his sister bothered with the underpowered noisy contraption.

Unsatisfied curiosity didn't sit well with Bobby. Where he had been not knowing things got you killed. It took two days for the curiosity to wear him down. When it finally got to him, he sat on the bike to figure out what each brake lever and gear shifter did. He found that he had the 7 lower gears to play with. The front shifter cable was hooked up to the throttle of the tiny engine. The left hand brake lever worked the rear brakes, but the left one lifted the engine. He was pretty sure if he didn't lift it the bike would kill the engine when it came to a stop.

If the old pull rope hadn't been tied to the handlebars he wouldn't have known how to start the bike. He wasn't a hundred percent sure how to wind it but he figured it out. The choke instructions were marked on the engine so it wasn't difficult to start. The bike had half a tank of gas, since it was a weed whacker engine he knew he would have to mix oil and gas to put in the tank. He hoped that it wouldn't be necessary to get the bike going. He had no plans to do more than ride it around the block.

The engine started fairly well. As he revved it up, he looked over at his economy class Korean car. It seemed to be laughing at him. He smiled at the thought.

Bobby had an idea that he needed to be rolling pretty good before he dropped the engine onto the front tire. When he dropped the engine and opened the throttle he was surprised that the bike shot ahead. No it wasn't blinding speed but it did step out pretty good for a bicycle.

The trip around the block turned into a trip around his dad's neighborhood. He smiled a lot at the feel of the wind on his face. He also notice things from the seat of the bike that he would never have seen from his car. He waved at several the neighbor and a few kids even shouted at him. The dog in the chain link fence a block over ran along inside the fence playfully. Bobby was surprised how much fun the ride had been.

"I see you took Gina's bike out for a spin," his dad commented on his return.

"I sure did. I am surprised how much fun that things is. Have you tried it yet?"

"No, I'm a little old for bicycles."

"Not this one, come on dad give it a try." After a couple of seconds his dad looked interested. "Do you have any 2 stroke gas mixed up."

"Sure, I got some for the Weed eater. It's in the plastic one gallon can. The two gallon can is for the lawn mower."

Bobby filled the small plastic tank, then sent his dad off to ride. He was a little worried since it had been years since his dad rode a bike. His dad seemed tentative as he pulled off.

His dad had been gone so long that Bobby was on the verge of going in search of him. Just as he planned to get the car out, his dad rode up.