62: Karen's New Bike

Wow, lots of different safety weeks/moths at SA. Did these kids learn anything else?

I wonder if DM or Kristy or anyone else had to help pay for their bikes... that was a bit stupid, seeing as the bike was a hand me down anyway, and too sall for Karen. Most thinks I can imagine her helping pay for, but a bike?

I thought that it was ridiculous that Watson had Karen pay half for the bike. She really did need a new one. I wonder if he would make David Michael pay half for his bike, assuming David Michael would want a new one. I felt bad for Karen when her bike was stolen. It was nice of Karen to give Polly her bike.

Exactly. The family paid MORE than enough. Karen basically collected donations for her bike, but hey, whatever works.

It really isn't the same plot at all, but whenever I think of this book I think of the Full House episode where Michelle thought her bike was stolen but really left it at her friend's house.

Karen was 7 in this book. I think she told us in Karen's Unicorn that she learned to ride a two-wheeler when she was 6. That was probably the bike she had at the little house, maybe Watson chipped in with Lisa and Seth. Kristy's hand me down bike (I did think it was sweet Karen was riding it and wish we had gotten to read about Kristy giving it to her), was possibly Karen's first two wheeler at the Big House. Watson, I don't think had not spent a lot of money on bikes for Karen before this time. I think if the Cougar Cat bike she wanted cost a lot more money than a less cool model that Watson was willing to pay completely for, Karen could have earned some money to help pay the difference. Now we never were told exactly how much money Watson expected Karen to pay. I had always thought he wanted half of the cost but it wasn't stated.

What bothered me was we were never told whether Watson took the time to check out Karen's current bike. If it truly was too small for her and not safe to be ridden and it did sound like Karen rode her bike almost daily, Watson most definitely should have stepped up immediately. Karen could have always contributed a little money afterwards. I don't know much of anything about bikes and have only one memory of a red bicycle I rode for a few years. I honestly don't even remember choosing it or how I ended up getting it just that it was special to me because my Grandpa taught me to ride it.

And as others of you have pointed out, what happens when Karen needs a new bike at her mom's? Karen did tell us that that bike was old, too. IDK, to me, as I already said, a much better plan would have been had Karen wanted a fancier bike, she could have contributed to it in some way but for a regular one, Watson should have bought it for her! It's not like she would need a new bike every week. I did enjoy reading about Karen interact with Bill Korman (usually the Kormans are so boring to me) and playing with other big house neighborhood kids. The bike-a-thon at the end and also the street bike parade Karen and her friends had reminded me of the BSC on Wheels part of Baby-sitters' Haunted House. It would have been cute had at least one of the BSC charges been mentioned in this book, too. I'm sure one of David Michael's SES friends, say Nicky Pike, was in the bike-a-thon or even Buddy Barrett. I do enjoy all the LS/ BSC connections that there are.