Wayne and Dennis ride the same bike path from a park to the beach. Dennis is $7$ mph faster than Wayne. It takes Wayne $2$ hours and Dennis $1.5$ hours to complete the ride. What is **Wayne's** speed?

Let $w$ be Wayne's speed. Then Dennis's speed is $w + 7$. The two riders cover the same distance (same path): $2 w = 1.5 (w + 7)$. Expand: $2 w = 1.5 w + 10.5 \Rightarrow 0.5 w = 10.5 \Rightarrow w = 21$. So Wayne's speed is $\boxed{21}$ mph (Dennis $= 28$ mph). Check: Wayne covers $21 \times 2 = 42$ miles; Dennis covers $28 \times 1.5 = 42$ miles ✓. - Trap C ($28$) is Dennis's speed. - Trap A ($14$) and D ($35$) miscount the relationship. When two riders share a route but differ in speed and time, the **distance** stays fixed; equate $r_1 t_1 = r_2 t_2$.