The Reading Toy Run has been going since 1985, so slightly longer than we have lived in Reading but we have never been to see it, which is quite shocking. This year we made amends for that.
The toy run is a charitable exercise bringing together lots of bikers who ride through the outskirts of Reading each carrying a present for a child. These presents are dropped off at a children’s home in Wokingham before being distributed by Barnardos.
Living so close to the road they travel along we have heard the bikes passing in previous years but never seen them. This year we went down to watch and it is quite the spectacle.
There are so many bikes now, there were 1,500 this year, that the roads have to be closed. There was an amazing array of bikes passing through; old, new, trail bikes, scooters, Harleys. There were classic BSA and Triumphs. More exotic Moto guzzi, Ducati and Goldwings. A great selection of Vespa and Lambrettas. You can see some of these in action in the video below.
Unsurprisingly, given the number of bikes, they were coming through for well over half an hour. It’s a good spectacle and a great way to donate to charity. More pictures below.
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