We’re Not Sugar; We don’t Melt
Saturday, August 13, 2016 – we’d heard the weather forecast that had been predicting Armageddon-like weather for the weekend; we woke up before 6am to overcast skies and dry roads.
UMV's 30th Annual Toy Run 2016
You can also view the
photos on our Facebook page.
As we rode through Morrisville on our way to Johnson to meet up with other UMV members, we hit a few drops of rain. After picking up some signs and traffic cones we headed to Montpelier to set up for the event. I had to take my rain jacket off then, it was too hot and humid and not raining so it seemed really pointless to be wearing a plastic coat.
When we got to the Blue Cross parking lot, the staging area the Toy Run, the new food vendor was set up as well as Bikers Against Child Abuse (BACA). BACA is forming a Vermont chapter and they have a ride coming up. Protecting children from abusers is a worthy, worthy cause. The new food vendor had a great setup. Michelle formerly of the Busy Bee Diner in Glover, VT handled the food vending this year. The selection and quality were fantastic.
There’s nothing like a hot dog and a big tray of fries for second breakfast, although the fresh muffins, cookies, Italian sausage and cheeseburgers were pretty tempting too.
Light rain started to fall a little while after we set up and became steadier as the morning wore on. It got a little foggy too. Check out the photo gallery above.
Miss Vermont – Rylee Field arrived and looked perfect. She joked about being wet but it seemed like the raindrops avoided her? She was so poised, confident and so upbeat you couldn’t help but like her. Speaking of which, vote for Rylee to be one of the top 15 contestants at the Miss America pageant, looks like you can vote daily.
As the number of participants grew to over 250, about a half to a third of what we expected, Lt. Governor Phil Scott arrived on one of his bikes for the ride to the State House.
The ride was slow and wet; there was steady light rain at noon. Local police led the parade and blocked traffic to keep things safe. The Rid Knights handled the parking for us again and had everyone parked in no time.
The Shriners were ready for us when we got there, they had plastic bags and popup canopies ready to receive the donated toys.
UMV President Holly Wilkins addressed the crowd; we had a moment of silence for all of those serving our country, for Rod Clark – Freedom of the Road member and founder of the Toy Run, and for Don Henn Sr. – a UMV active member from the start.
Senator Joe Benning introduced Phil Scott and reminded us all that Lt. Governor Scott cast the deciding vote in our favor to remove violation points on your license for riding without a helmet. It’s sad that our elected officials want to treat motorcyclists differently than other drivers. You’ve really got to give Phil Scott props. He was attending a bicycle event in southern Vermont – a previous commitment, but he got on his motorcycle and rode up to Montpelier to take part in our Toy Run. Then rode back to southern Vermont to finish the bicycle event.
So, the turnout was light – a third to a half of what it should have been. We still collected a lot of toys for the kids, cash donations for the Shriners Hospitals for Children, sold some t-shirts and gave away free UMV memberships to those who attended. We’ll be selling t-shirts on line soon; it’s a pretty cool design this year.
Charlie O’s, a Montpelier landmark and really fun bar, is celebrating their 40th year in business. Since Rod Clark thought up the Toy Run in their bar they threw an after the Toy Run party. They had parking spaces blocked off out front so we were able to pull right in and thank God it was cool and dark inside and there was room for us at the bar. The sun came out right about then and it was wicked hot and humid outside. Charlie O’s had several really good bands scheduled and one with a female lead singer/guitarist did a cover of Bobby McGee that had the whole place singing along. Good times.
The ride home was perfect. The roads were dry, the air cooler and less humid, and there was a mix of blue sky, clouds and sun. Most of RT 12 between Montpelier and Morrisville (except for a bad patch south of Worcester) has been recently paved. It made for a perfect ride after a year of planning and working on the 30th Annual Toy Run.
Hope to see you next year, and remember – real Vermonters don’t believe weather forecasts.
Join UMV, come to our monthly meetings, and help out in planning and working on our events to support our scholarships and the kids at Camp Takumta and Shriners Hospitals for Children.
Dates to remember:
- First Wednesday of every month – UMV meetings
- Saturday, January 14, 2017 – 16th Annual Harley Raffle
- Saturday, August 12, 2017 – 31st Annual Toy Run
