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"D.W. Rides Again"
Season/Series: 1
Number in season: 19a
Original Airdate: United States October 31, 1996[1]
Canada January 30, 1997[2]
Germany January 8, 2002[3]
Credits
Written by: Marc Brown (original)
Joe Fallon (adapted)
Storyboard by: Gerry Capelle
Episodes
Previous
"Sick as a Dog"
Next
"Arthur Makes the Team"
Read transcript

"D.W. Rides Again" is the first half of the nineteenth episode in the first season of Arthur. It is based on the book D.W. Rides Again!.

Summary

D.W. gets a new bike and needs to learn how to use it. Arthur teaches 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

Arthur is riding a bike, and D.W. zooms past him on a bike with training wheels. He tells the viewers about younger siblings, and how they like to do the same things as you, "even if they're too young." He thinks back to his birthday party, where D.W. wanted to play "Pin the Tale on the Donkey" even though Arthur told her the game "is for big kids". D.W. insisted she was big enough to play, and ended up sticking the tail on Arthur's backside. Arthur also thinks of the time he was in a basketball shooting contest and D.W. joined as well. In that case, she actually beat Arthur, much to his embarrassment. Now, D.W. is wanting to ride a two wheeler. She yells for Arthur, saying she can't stop.

D.W. Rides Again

Arthur asks Mrs. Tibble to sponsor him in the Elwood City Bike-A-Thon. Timmy and Tommy Tibble then appear from under the floorboards on the porch and tell 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 fall forward and discover that the Tibble twins had tied his shoelaces together.

Later, at the Read house, Arthur, Francine and Buster are preparing to go bike riding together. D.W. wants to ride with them, but Arthur says they need to practice for the Bike-A-Thon and Francine points out that D.W. has a tricycle, which wouldn't be able to keep up with their two wheelers. D.W. insists on joining in anyway. Arthur warns her that they can't go slow for her, but D.W. feels that won't be necessary. However, she realizes she can't keep up with a tricycle after all. She fantasizes about riding a two-wheeler that can travel at an extremely high speed- far faster than other two wheelers, a racehorse, and even racecars. Back in reality, The Tibble Twins show up and show off their two wheelers. They tease D.W. for only having a tricycle and not being able to ride in the Bike-A-Thon like them.

At dinner, D.W. serves David some potatoes, and comments on how delicious everything is. Jane can tell that D.W. wants something, and asks her about it. D.W. says she wants to learn how to ride a two-wheeler.

The next day D.W. and her parents go to the bike shop. D.W. finds a bike that she loves. When they get home, she adds a sign with her name on it to the back of the bike, making it "perfect".

D.W. wants to have her first lesson, but David and Jane are both unable to teach her at the moment. Arthur is trying to practice for the Bike-A-Thon with Buster, Francine and Brain, but David asks him to help D.W. Everyone decides to join in and help teach D.W. However, they all have different ideas about what to first teach D.W., and can't even agree on the best way for D.W. to wear a helmet. Eventually, the time comes for Arthur's friends to have to go home for lunch. Arthur leaves too, and promises D.W. that he will help her after lunch.

Arthur teaches D.W. the basics, including hand signals and the importance of "avoiding dogs". D.W. wants the Tibbles to see her on a two-wheeler, but the twins make fun of her for having training wheels, saying it's not a "real" two wheeler. D.W. decides to have her training wheels taken off, which David does, and D.W. falls off the bike. David pushes the bike down the sidewalk and she falls into a trash can. Her parents are bandaging her cuts, and her father suggests he puts her training wheels back on for the race, and she can take time with learning how to ride without them. But she snatches her helmet, and goes back to her bike saying she can learn herself.

Kate and Pal watch from the window as D.W. keeps practicing to ride the bike, even on a rainy day. After constantly crashing into garages and fences and falling into a wet puddle, she finally gets the hang of it with her can-do spirit and Kate and Pal are overjoyed. She even greets the Tibbles at one point while riding, causing the twins to crash themselves when they got distracted from finally seeing her riding a bike. She finally rides in the Bike-A-Thon with her parents. She sees a fancy red car, and asks her parents how old she has to be to drive a car.

Characters

Major

Minor

Cameo

Trivia

  • At the end of the 2000 rerun intro on PBS Kids before this episode, Arthur’s crashing sound changes to a big splash of water.
  • When D.W. succeeds in riding the bike, she wears shorts and a short-sleeved shirt instead of her normal jumper dress and pantyhose. 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 the Reads'. This may be part of the ritual.
  • This episode was aired on Halloween in 1996.

Episode connections

  • This is one of four episodes that focus on bikes. The other three are "Binky vs. Binky", "Arthur Changes Gears" and "Room to Ride".
  • In D.W.’s fantasy, she overtakes the horseback rider she saw and envied at the end of "D.W. Flips."
  • D.W. rides her bike again, but she doesn't ride it again until spring in "Waiting for Snow."
  • In the "A Word from Us Kids" segment, the girls featured are learning how to figure skate. One of them says that if D.W. could learn how to ride a bike, she could also learn how to figure skate. Learning to skate would eventually be a storyline for D.W. in "D.W. on Ice".

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:

DVD:

Gallery

Main article: D.W. Rides Again (episode)/Gallery

References


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