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A Shorter Route This Year For Philadelphia Bikers on 'Toys For Tots' Run

By Mike DeNardo

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The roar of motorcycles will fill the streets of Philadelphia on Sunday for the annual "Toys for Tots" run.

Starting at noon, thousands of motorcycle riders bearing toys will gather at Columbus Boulevard and Spring Garden Street, according to Mark Schultz, a spokesman for ABATE -- the Alliance of Bikers Aimed Toward Education.

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(Mark Schultz. Photo by Mike DeNardo)

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"We went to Children's Hospital for 30 years -- this is our 34th.  We got so large that the hospital couldn't handle us anymore," he tells KYW Newsradio.

This year it's a shorter route, ending with a toy drop-off at the Electric Factory, at 7th and Willow Streets, where bikers will be treated to a concert by an Allman Brothers tribute band.

But Congressman Bob Brady (D-Pa.) says he wants to restore a route where children in hospitals can hear the bikers rumbling in.

"They're at the windows looking at the motorcycles.  They love the motorcycles, and they love the guys who come up and do that!  We're going to make this right for next year," Brady said.

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(US Rep. Bob Brady speaks to the gathering. Photo by Mike DeNardo)

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The just-retired Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice Seamus McCaffery was scheduled to lead the procession of motorcycles.  There was no immediate word on whether he still planned to do that.

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