Issue 07 · Ages 6–11

Cargo Bike Grand Prix

Tech: E-cargo bikes + routing appJob: Cargo courier Authors: E. H. Ackerman & J. D. AckermanARQS Press

Reading band: Ages 6–11Headline tech: E-cargo bikes + delivery routing appThe job: Cargo CourierLocation: Riverside Loop, a waterside maze of bright bike lanes, footbridges, and market docks

The Hook

Riverside Food Hall has three lunch orders and a tiny delivery window, so Mizz Zee hires the crew as cargo couriers. Their e-cargo bike can carry a mountain of lunch boxes—if Jay stops concert-ringing its bell.

Cast in this issue

Tray — route reader, time keeper, anti-shortcut committee.
Jay — bell enthusiast and self-declared race announcer.
Rae — lead rider, pay negotiator, keeper of the new Spoke-Saver Wrench.
Mizz Zee — job-broker and Food Hall dispatch captain.

Comic Pages

PAGE 1

PANEL 1Blue bike lanes curve past docks, bridges, and market umbrellas. An e-cargo bike waits. MIZZ ZEE: "Three sealed lunches: dock office, garden studio, ferry workshop—before 12:30." JAY rings six times. GAG: Pigeons line up as if awaiting the next verse. RAE: "Safety bell, not one-bird orchestra."

PANEL 2Mizz Zee shows Tray’s routing app. MIZZ ZEE: "Helmets clipped, boxes strapped, bike lanes only, follow the route, be kind. Fifteen coins, plus any tip." RAE: "Real job, real pay. We’re hyped." JAY: "Bet. Cargo Bike Grand Prix!" TRAY: "It is not a race." JAY: "A polite, rule-following Grand Prix?"

PAGE 2

PANEL 3Rae pedals; a motor light glows. TRAY: "We pedal, and the e-bike’s small motor gives extra help with heavy cargo." RAE: "The app uses map and traffic notes to order stops. It is organized guessing, not magic." JAY: "Tray in rectangle form." TRAY: "I accept this flex."

PANEL 4An arrow says “BRIDGE AHEAD.” Jay eyes a narrow sign: “WET PAINT—CLOSED.” JAY: "Shortcut? Low-key faster." TRAY: "Closed is an app word and a life word." GLITCH: "Beginning bicycle portrait!" GAG: Its masterpiece gives the bike twelve heroic wheels.

PAGE 3

PANEL 5JAY: "Hold my juice box—I found a snack-shaped shortcut!" Rae turns into the cobbled lane before Tray spots its pedestrian icon. Boxes stay strapped but everyone bounces. GAG: Jay’s cheeks jiggle as he announces, “My teeth are doing percussion!” RAE: "The route is having feelings."

PANEL 6The assist light blinks off; Rae stops beside a rack. TRAY: "The bumps loosened a motor sensor connector. Shortcut cost time." JAY: "I am now regret intern." RAE: "New belt tool: Spoke-Saver Wrench. It tightens bike parts, not sandwiches." JAY: "Sandwich energy, though."

PAGE 4

PANEL 7Rae secures the connector; Tray resets the stops; Jay steadies the bike. The motor chimes. RAE: "No mystery alleys." JAY: "I’ll follow arrows like glowing noodles." TRAY: "Unexpectedly useful."

PANEL 8Dock office gets soup, garden studio wraps, ferry workshop fruit cups—on time. MIZZ ZEE: "Fifteen coins and four in tips. You recovered like real ones." JAY: "My legs are employees!" TRAY writes: "Ledger line: 07, Cargo courier wages and tips, plus 19 coins. Total: 151 coins." RAE: "Library next. Don’t race a book cart." JAY: "Responsible promises."

Tech Talk with Rae

RAE’S TOOL-BELT BOX: An e-cargo bike has pedals, brakes, and a battery helper motor. It lets riders carry more with less huffing. A routing app sorts stops, but humans must read signs and choose safe routes. Cobblestones make eyebrows bounce. TRY IT: Plan a three-stop walk; which stop comes first?

The Job Board

Job title: Cargo Courier
Who hired us: Mizz Zee, Riverside Food Hall dispatch captain
Rules of the job: Helmets; strapped boxes; bike lanes; app route; kind, timely deliveries.
What went wrong: Jay’s cobbled shortcut loosened a motor sensor connector.
How we fixed it: Rae used the new Spoke-Saver Wrench, Tray reset stops, and Jay steadied the bike.
What we got paid: 15 coins base + 4 coins in tips = 19 coins. Crew Bank ledger total: 151 coins.

Slang Decoder

Hyped** — excited and ready.Bet** — yes, I’m in.Low-key** — a little bit or quietly.Flex** — something impressive to show.Real ones** — dependable people who come through.

Three lunches. Three stops. One cargo bike with a bell-loving co-pilot! Jay’s “snack-shaped” shortcut rattles more than his teeth. Can Rae’s wrench, Tray’s route brain, and Jay’s newly employed legs make every delivery? Then it’s hush-hush at the library!

Full-colour modern children’s graphic-novel cartoon with thick clean ink and saturated kid-friendly colour: at Riverside Loop, Tray is a warm-brown-skinned 10-year-old with short curly black hair and a lightning-bolt shaved part on the LEFT, chunky blue-framed smart glasses with a camera dot on the right lens, mustard-yellow gear-patch hoodie, teal cargo shorts, bright orange sneakers, and slim drone-zipper-pull backpack, reading the route. Jay is a lighter-brown-skinned freckled 8-year-old with wild messy black hair, one missing front tooth, lime rocket-print T-shirt, red gadget-pocket shorts, mismatched striped and polka-dot socks, and chunky glowing-lace purple sneakers, joyfully holding the bell. Rae is a dark-brown-skinned 12-year-old with two long black braids with gold bead cuffs, purple rolled-sleeve utility jumpsuit, safety goggles on her forehead, smartwatch on her right wrist, silver-and-pink high-tops, and a tool belt holding a wrench, Propeller Gauge, Dough Scraper, Fold-Out Safety Whistle, Pocket Tripod Clamp, and Sunlight Meter, Nutrient Nudge Pipette, and Spoke-Saver Wrench, steering. Include food crates, docks, bridge mural, Glitch’s twelve-wheeled drawing.

All 22 issues ← Issue 06: Vertical Farm Vertigo Issue 08: The Chatbot That Wouldn’t Stop Joking →

This issue in print

Issue 07 appears in the collection Tray & Jay: World Explorers with its full-colour comic illustration, Tech Talk page, Job Board card and Slang Decoder.