A local fundraising effort spearheaded by Eric Webber and Jim Decker brought 120 bikes to Warren Area High School for a special giveaway on Monday afternoon.

Decker compared the event to Thanksgiving dinner with the amount of work that went into pulling it off.

“It was great to see the kids,” he said. “It went exceptionally well.”

The funds were raised locally and then given to Can’d Aid which purchased the bikes and helmets.

Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton Some first graders can ride. For some, it’s a skill they don’t have yet. Here, Jim Decker helps one first grader get going.

They also coordinated Monday’s giveaway, which included a wildly-popular demonstration by pro mountain biker Jeff Lenosky.

Lenosky told the kids that he got his first bike when he was in first grade and just liked riding and the freedom it gave him.

He said he started getting into tricks in middle school and got hooked in high school.

“Bike riding was always my favorite sport,” he said.

Friends and family weren’t necessarily supportive of his desire to turn that into a job though, even after winning a national championship.

Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton Pro mountain biker Jeff Lenosky rides up close to the first graders that were given new bicycles on Monday at Warren Area High School.

And he tied that into the two messages he had for the kids – “bikes are awesome” and “don’t let people discourage you” from chasing dreams.

Before Monday’s event broke up there were already comments about next year.

Can’d Aid also offers musical instrument fundraising and Decker said there was a lot of interest in that in the community.

“(We’ll) see what makes sense,” he said.

There’s a trend to Webber’s bicycle fundraising – 30, 65 last year, 120 last year.

“If we keep the trend going, the total is 240,” he said.