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If you’ve been riding a motorcycle for any length of time,you have probably been on a toy ride or two, or ten! Toy rides happen in manycities all over the country at Christmas time. But no matter where you live itusually means it will be cold, and or rainy. And with the bad economy, not everyonecan afford to buy toys for the children they DO know, let alone the homelesschildren they have never met. But Christmas is the birthday of Jesus, who gavehis life for us. The holiday is a celebration of giving. It is not about adollar amount, it is about giving of yourself, of your time, and of your heart.It’s about letting someone else know that they matter to you.
Having just moved to Colorado, I didn’t know if I would beable to get back for the Glendale Harley-Davidson Toy Ride that rides to theFred Jordan Mission down on skid row. But my friend’s over at Glendale H-D started thissmall charity ride over 20 years ago to bring toys down to the homeless kidsthat might not otherwise get a toy at this time of year. I saw on our localnews all of the bikers that showed up for the local Grand Junction HarleyDavidson Toy Ride despite the bad economy and cold temperatures, and I wasreminded of what a great joy it is to participate in making a difference forthe kids. So I made it a point to get back, and join the same group of peopleI’ve seen show up for that ride for two decades! Oliver Shoukouh, the owner of Glendale H-D and founder of the Love Ride thanked the crowd for their loyal and continued support.
Unfortunately, the popular David Mann Chopperfest landed onthe same Sunday this year, and several of my friends wanted to head up toVentura for that. So some of us went this way, and some of us went that. But weall started out together on what turned out to be the most amazing sunnyDecember day with record 75 degree weather. The streets of Glendale were buzzingwith a crowd that ended up being the best turn out Richard has seen yet. RobertPatrick of “Terminator” fame and charter member of the “Boozefighters” showedup in his traditional style to lead the ride along with Santa in the firetruck, and a huge pickup loaded with the toys of those who were just droppingoff, but not riding.
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The ride went off without a hitch, and Echo Park has neverlooked more beautiful! Families lined the streets waving as we passed by. Oncedown town there were a sea of Monguls and Vagos with a mountain of toys alreadypiling up, and three city blocks of kids waiting in line. Some of the familiesin the front of the line had camped out overnight just so their children couldhave first dibs at the toy selections. The Vagos had supplied 100 bikes of differentsizes and colors. There were so many bikes that they made a separate sectionjust for the kids lucky enough to get a bike to go in and pick the one of theirchoice.
My friend Carlana joined me for the event again this year,and she and I positioned ourselves where each family got to the front of theline. They limited families to one bike, so it was actually sad to see thefamilies with several kids (who all wanted their own bike) have to make thedecision which kid would get the bike. None the less, it was heart warming towatch each child pick out their bike or toy, and a handful of Vagos assist themin getting the bike and adjusting the seats to fit their height. Whatever theypicked, their smiles told the story.
Watching Carlana interact with the kids and the bikers wasas always, equally heart warming. Carlana has a way of bringing out the best ineveryone. Her smile and energy are infectious. Her strength and determinationgo without saying. Every child or biker she passes notices her beauty as she callsout to them to say Merry Christmas. Many of them come over to hug her and talkto her. We met a Mongul with an old classic trike, so they talked trikes forawhile, and Carlana challenged him to a race. I think she let him win!
Richard took the podium and thanked everyone for making itthe most successful Toy Ride to date. And a Vago who I’ve seen up on the stagemany years now followed him by saying that the Vagos intended to bring another100 bikes next year, and he invited anyone to meet or beat their generousdonation.
By 2:00, the event was winding down, and the sun was stillsmiling down on the day. So I decided to head up the coast to try and catch myfriends who had all detoured over to Chopperfest. It was an amazing ride aloneup the coast, and I remembered why so many of us choose to live in California!I got there just in time to watch hundreds of bikers pouring out of the Venturacounty fairground gates. But no matter, I had already had a perfect day.
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I got to enjoy the ride back with my friends as the sun wassetting over the sea. It truly doesn’t get much better than that. We closed theday with a salad at the Sagebrush Cantina. A little bit of music, and asalways, a lot of laughs. It was a great way to say goodbye to 2010! And thatwas just the start of my week in California. I went on to demo test the newHarleys with Genevieve mid week, and joined her at the International MotorcycleShow down in Long Beach all weekend. So look for the stories on that event tocome!
You can learn more about me, what I’m doing, and what I’mwriting @ www.BetsyHuelskamp.com
