Toy Run 2005
In a couple of weeks , on a usually cold and sometimes wet Sunday morning, motorcyclists from near and far will gather on Riverside Drive in anticipation of this year’s Toys For Tots annual ride. Many will brave the bitter December winds just for an opportunity to donate new toys that will be collected and distributed to families with children who otherwise may not receive any presents for Christmas. Hours before the ride actually begins, they arrive and begin to line up. Individuals and groups, scooters decorated with wreaths, bells, Christmas lights and each with bundles of new toys, tied or bungeed down. From modest Vespas, to original garage-created three-wheeled earth ships, crotch rockets and custom, paid-an-arm-and-a-leg for it, airbrushed, chrome-laden motorcycles, they will appear, the ground trembling to the sound of drag pipes, as they roll past the early birds and take their places at the back of the pack.
By one o’clock in the afternoon, thousands are already there with more still showing up as the ride is set to start. From the front, lined up about five across and further back than the eye can see, over ten thousand riders will fire up their engines to a deafening roar as the long procession starts down Riverside Drive along streets lined with thousands of people, waving and cheering, knowing how much this will mean to so many kids and the parents who may not be able to afford to get them presents. For the riders near the back of the line, it’s a long wait before their ride actually begins. Police man the blockades at the intersections and cross traffic is backed up and at a standstill for what seems like days as the endless stream of motorcycles wind their way down along the river, through midtown
to the east side of town, where the ride ends and the toys and other gifts are piled like man-made mountains of presents.
Every year, the number of riders grows and other rides for the same charitable cause spring up in other area towns. Friends and strangers, all of us, out for the annual Sunday cruise for the comraderie, the fun and especially for the kids.