Bikers and hot-rodders have always had a bit of a rough reputation. Poster children for dangerous miscreants, their presence in your neighborhood is likely to result in someone getting beat to death with a chain, or maybe an out of control jalopy mowing down a toddler's birthday party.
And yet, when they're not burning a swath of terror fueled by the blood of the innocent, events like the 22nd-Annual Toys for Tots Run prove that they might not be that bad after all.
The gist of the Toys for Tots Run is as follows. Hundreds of bikers, and dozens of car enthusiasts, meet up at a Kansas City-area Harley Davidson dealership. They donate thousands of new toys and money to the U.S. Marines to give to underprivileged kids. Then they take an awesome police-escorted mega-cruise to a remote location for lunch.
This year's run went from Rawhide Harley Davidson in Olathe to the Mahaffie Stagecoach House in Olathe, via a 55-mile cruise that is managed by several area police departments.
I had such disregard for my young son that I dared to bring him among these hardened outlaws Sunday morning.
But you know what? Nothing bad happened. We didn't see one knife fight. No one was beaten by nunchucks. Nobody's ol' lady was kidnapped. In fact, the scariest character on the lot was a marginally convincing facsimile of Santa Claus.
What we did see was a mountain of toys. We saw a great group of people who know how to have a good time. We saw some awesome bikes, and some beautiful cars. And we saw everyone come together to help the Marines help needy kids have a much better Christmas.
The Toys for Tots Run reveals the amount of heart that this group of people has. But don't let that get out--they've got a rep to protect.
Check out the slideshow below to see some of the great cars and bikes that were at the 22nd-Annual Toys for Tots Run, as well as some of the new and used bikes that were on display in Rawhide Harley Davidson's beautiful showroom.
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