New Toy Run 05

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28^th Newcastle Christmas Toy Run 2005

Early Sunday morning saw Kaz and myself meeting up with our eldest son and a couple of other riders from Denman, for a nice run down to Newcastle and the running of the 28^th Christmas Toy Run. Arriving at the markets at Sandgate I dropped off the back and parked in the street outside in order to get a few photos later on of the run leaving, I had figured that if I joined the run about halfway through, I could pull over a bit further down the road, snap a couple more and then tag onto the end, I was glad later that I did, because there was no way that I could have got through that many bikes as they left the muster area.

Now I don’t know who the poor bugger was that got the job of counting them, but, according to the Herald newspaper there were 8000 motorcyclists forming a ten kilometre long run that left from Sandgate Markets and headed to the final destination at the foreshore in Newcastle. Even allowing for a bit of artistic licence they could be pretty close to mark as there were lots of places at the muster point where you could not swing a cat for the bikes jammed up together, and that was whilst there were still more bikes rolling in, creating a steady stream right up to the planned departure time.

“Big John” Young of Bikers For Kids, and the front man for this huge event, was easy to spot as he walked amongst the crowd, chatting to groups and individuals and thanking them for coming, being a big bloke, he naturally walks tall, but I can tell you, that, with all the things he does for the kids around Newcastle he more than deserves every inch of it. In the meantime, the Salvation Army ladies were being run ragged as they sold Toy Run pins, the crowd was giving the donation buckets a caning and with just about every bike adorned with a toy, not to mention all the ones in saddlebags and gear-sacks, it was quickly turning into an event that all the volunteers and participating bikers should be justifiably proud of.

After a bit of a stroll through the crowd and bikes to take a few pics, I finally found Kaz and Shane again, not an easy thing to do in a crowd that big when you don’t know where they are, plus I kept getting sidetracked by all the lovely ladies that I figured needed to be photographed in order to balance out all us ugly weather beaten blokes with way too many miles under the saddle. Eventually with the run underway and a few more photos taken enroute, I finally ended up at the back with the police cars, RTA and SES vehicles, these people put a lot of behind the scenes effort into this event and deserve a huge pat on the back for getting such a large group of riders safely through the city.

The foreshore was absolutely jam packed when I finally shut the bike off, so I made a beeline for the stage just in time to catch the Salvos and Big John welcoming us from behind a huge pile of toys that was still being added to as they spoke. I wouldn’t even begin to hazard a guess as to the value of the toys and donations, but when you see such a huge turnout, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out why bikers are way out in front of any other group for freely giving a part of themselves to those in need.

A little while later, saw us a short way down the road at the Brewery Hotel taking in the sea breeze and looking out over the harbour, whilst having one for the road prior to the ride home. It was a good way to end a run, and surrounded by other riders who obviously thought the same, it wasn’t hard to reflect back on the events of the day to see why bikers get a hell of a lot more out of life than the average Joe Blow stuck in their tin-tops.

Once again, as mentioned before, a big vote of thanks to Big John and all the people behind the scenes, Merry Christmas to all the kids, and see you all there next year.

- Crusty & Kaz