The 35th Annual Kicks 4 Kids Toy Run was held on December 2, 2007 at the FOP Lodge 2 on 19th Avenue in northwest Phoenix, Arizona. This is the longest active toy run in the Phoenix area. Typical of previous years, the run was attended by over one thousand motorcyclists riding all makes of bikes, although the ride is dominated primarily by Harleys. Many of the bikes and riders were decorated in Christmas trimmings. A delicious home-cooked breakfast was served inside the lodge by the friendly FOP staff starting about 7:00 a.m. to those interested. The ride left the FOP Lodge 2 at 10:00 a.m., with Highway Patrol escort, and methodically meandered its way to its destination, the B.P.O.E. Elks Lodge # 477 in south Phoenix, which was the toy drop-off point.

The morning was brisk and filled with blue sky --- perfect for a December Arizona ride. Since the FOP Lodge 2 is tightly nestled against the west side of Phoenix’s North Mountain, the morning sunrise took longer than in city areas with flatter terrain. The shaded sunrise made for a changing camera White Balance setting, causing some colorcasts in the early photos. This was mostly removed with retouching. The event and lighting were changing too quickly to do any custom WB settings. Following are some of my favorite photos of the run.