Thumbing our noses at danger during the 24th-Annual Toys for Tots Run at Rawhide Harley Davidson

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 24th-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 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 Old Shawnee Town, via a 15-mile cruise that is managed by several area police departments.

This year, my dad brought his old Corvette out and we headed to Olathe. It could have been dangerous, but we laugh in the face of danger.

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.

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 we saw everyone come together to help the Marines help needy kids have a much better Christmas.

We didn’t see many cars. Now, we left before the cruise started, so maybe some showed up later. But in the past, there were lots of cars involved with this event. They have been getting less and less each year, though, so maybe this year was sort of the end of the cars.

Anyway, 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 bikes that were at the 24th-Annual Toys for Tots Run, as well as some of the new and used Harleys that were on display in Rawhide Harley Davidson's beautiful showroom.  Or click this link for a better version of the slideshow.