It was race time. Three generations – children, parents, and grandparents – amassed at an asphalt racetrack in a La Cañada parking lot. The racers donned their red helmets to go with their blue shirts. The tricycles – yes, tricycles – were lined up, polished and ready for the big event.

The younger generation was the 3- and 4-year olds who attend Crescenta-Cañada Cooperative Nursery School. For many of them, the trike-a-thon fundraiser would be their first experience with competitive racing.

The day of the big trike-a-thon was also Grandparents Day and for the first hour the grandparents observed the projects and play that go into a typical day at CCNS. The parents arrived shortly thereafter, and the entire contingent moved to the parking lot to a racetrack lined with checkered flags and festooned with red balloons.

Parents and grandparents gathered on the sidelines as the kids lined up on their trikes. As Michelle Reilly (teacher of the 3-year-old Darling Ducks) gave the word the first heat jumped off the starting line, slow at first but then gathering momentum, soon pumping the pedals as fast as their little legs would allow. The racers completed as many laps in three minutes as they could, and each lap garnered a donation from their pledges.

The scene was exciting, sometimes chaotic, and thoroughly amusing. Parents waved signs with their children’s names and cheered. The kids bent to their tasks with the utmost seriousness and intensity. A high-speed collision brought down the foam finishing line shortly before the final lap, but a few helpful observers held it up for the duration of the race.

The kids beamed as they received medals for their efforts and, at the end of the day a barbecue lunch was enjoyed by all.

Submitted by Mike AZBILL