Motorcycle riders bring toys to Lihu‘e

LIHU‘E — Several hundred motorcycle enthusiasts gathered in front of the historic County Building on Sunday to listen to the directions of the convoy to the North Shore.

The rumble that resounded through the quiet Sunday morning was not from thunder, but the hundreds of steel mustangs that capitalized on sunny weather to leave the historic County Building and the adjoining parking areas that were empty.

“The last group just left,” a spectator said on her smartphone to a waiting spectator. “They’re going to the Lihu‘e Airport for a drive-thru because that’s the way Russell Haluapo would’ve done it. He always went through the airport.”

The riders brought toys to benefit the Boys &Girls Club, Kaua‘i clubhouses from Waimea through Kapa‘a, as they deposited their toys that would brighten a child’s Christmas.

This effort was similar to the effort started by Haluapo, and later extended when a motorcycle rider from off-island started a Back to School effort that was delivered to the Boys &Girls Club by Haluapo and supporting motorcycle riders.

“I remember that when Russell and the motorcycle riders brought the first shipment of backpacks filled with school supplies,” said Evan Schrader of the BCGH, who was joined by John Bungala-McCarthy and Lean Subia in receiving the nearly two vanfuls of toys.

Sunday’s ride is the continuation of a legacy left by Haluapo, who started the ride tradition by collecting toys for a small North Shore church, then later adding food to supplement the toy contributions to help the families enjoy the holidays instead of worrying about not having enough food to provide for even a day.

Earlier in the month, the motorcycle riders from the Garden Isle Racing Association sparked a toy drive from drag race drivers and spectators at the final GIRA drag races of the year to help launch the Toys for Tots campaign being handled by Capt. Rod Green and the U.S. Marine Corps League that has its collections during the weekends at the Kaua‘i Veterans Center.