Grades 6–8 · Getting Around Without a Car · Badge 1
The The Machine Badge Challenge
8 questions from the 4 lessons in this badge. You need every one right, and you can try as many times as you like.
Step 1 of 8
1Decide
The e-bike feels easy at 20 mph. What does that mean for stopping?
Right. E-bikes get bigger brakes because they have to. Those brakes make stopping possible, not short. And the half second before your hands move costs more too, because you cover more ground while you decide.
Feels wrong, is right. The motor hides the effort, so speed stops feeling like speed. But the energy you have to get rid of goes up with the square of your speed. Nearly double the speed is more than three times the braking distance. The brakes do not know how easy it felt.
Pick the right one to carry on.
2Find them
Which of these change how far you need to stop?
Tap the ones that count.
Find all 4.
3Decide
Which one is fitted?
That one. Level, so the forehead is covered. Snug, so it stays put when your head snaps forward. Tipped back is the common one, and it is the one that fails.
Look at the forehead. Tipped back leaves it bare. Pulled down over the eyes stops you seeing. The fitted one sits level, about two fingers above the eyebrows, with straps snug enough that opening your mouth wide pulls on them.
Pick the right one to carry on.
4Find them
Which of these mean the helmet needs sorting before you ride?
Tap the ones that count.
Find all 4.
5Decide
Front brake pulls almost to the grip. You are already late.
Right. Late is a problem you solve with a phone. On most bikes the front brake does most of the stopping, and an e-bike needs all of it. A brake that is not there is not a careful-riding problem.
This is the one that matters. The front brake does most of the work of stopping a bike. Without it you have a fast, heavy machine with roughly half its stopping, on top of the distances from the first lesson. Late is cheaper.
Pick the right one to carry on.
6Find them
Which of these mean you do not ride today?
Tap the ones that count.
Find all 3.
7Decide
Your friend missed her bus and wants a lift on the rack. Five minutes.
Right. Five minutes of walking is the same five minutes, minus the part where two people go over the bars. You do not need a friend’s permission to keep your bike for one.
Slow is not the fix. The problem is not speed. It is that the bike balances and brakes for one person, and the second one moves. Slow with a passenger is still a heavy machine with someone on it who cannot see what you see. Walk it.
Pick the right one to carry on.
8Find them
Which of these would you actually ride with?
Tap the ones that count.
Find all 3.
Badge earned: The Machine.
Every question right. Show a parent this screen tonight, and tell them one thing from this badge you did not know before.
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Your badge
The The Machine badge artwork lands here, with your name and the date, and a print button.
