Ch7-Start Pedaling!

CHAPTER SEVEN Start Pedaling! "Wow," whispered Jack. He reached into his satchel and pulled out their rhyme book. "I'll say the first line of the rhyme," Jack said to Annie. "You say the second. Then we'll start pedaling as fast as we

can. The street's empty. No one will see us. So we can—" "Good," interrupted Annie. "Let's get going." Jack held up the rhyme book so they could both read by the light of a streetlamp. He read his line first: Whirl and twirl and swirl and spin! Then Annie read the second line: Tee-roll-eye-bee-eye-ben! Jack shoved the book back into his satchel. "Pedal!" he cried. Jack and Annie balanced themselves on the bike and pedaled hard. The bike

rattled over the cobblestones. "Faster!" shouted Jack. He pedaled as hard as he could. The bike shot forward! The front wheel began rising off the stone pavement! "Whoa!" cried Annie. "Hold on tight!" cried Jack. Jack gripped his handlebars as the wheels spun faster and faster and the bicycle rose into the air. It rose higher and higher above the dark street, above the rooftops, and into the moon-bright sky. "Turn left!" shouted Jack.

Annie turned her handlebars, and the flying bicycle headed straight toward the Eiffel Tower. The white beams of the tower's spotlights swept over Paris, shining on chimneys, church steeples, and domes. But Jack kept his eyes fixed on the glowing iron tower. That was where they had to go. That was their goal.

As Jack and Annie pedaled, the warm Paris air embraced them, holding the bike steady. With very little effort, they drew closer and closer to the tower. Soon they were almost there. "We have to land!" shouted Jack. "I know!" shouted Annie. "Lean forward!"

They both leaned forward. The front wheel of the bike dipped. Annie steadied her handlebars as the bike zoomed down toward the base of the tower. "Stop pedaling!" shouted Jack. He was afraid they would dive straight into the ground. But the bike seemed to have a mind of its own. As it drew nearer to the base of the tower, it began to drop softly and slowly, like a falling feather. The bike floated closer and closer to the ground. Its wheels brushed the grass of a shadowy garden not far from the tower. Jack and Annie pushed on the