The man, about 55, looked shocked."Don't put my name in the paper, mate," he said. "My wife thinks I'm at Rotary."He was one of almost 300 motorcycle riders who took part in the annual 3BA Christmas Appeal toy run on Saturday.And he neatly summed up the often awkward relationship between middle aged men, their motorcycles and their wives.While almost two "ute loads" of toys were donated during the ride for underprivileged children, the real toys, the big ones, were on the road.Mr Redfern, 55, was out on his new $40,000 Victory Vision.The stunning silver and black bike was equipped with ABS brakes, electric windscreen, radio and reverse gears.Mr Redfern is retired and used accumulated leave payments to pay for it.He solves the motorcycle/family dilemma by putting his wife on the back."We went up to Mildura on it," he said."It's got an intercom and she said 'you'll have to start singing because I'm falling asleep'."Organiser George Langley led the run on his 1998 BMW 1100 trike.He bought the bike new and then converted it to three wheels when he started to have trouble with his knees."I've ridden it all over Australia," he said.Kevin, 59, declined to give his surname and was riding a new Harley Davidson."Freedom, peace and quite, the open road ... they're the reasons I ride," he said. "I stick the missus on the back."The oldest rider on the day was perhaps Brian Fischer, 72.Mr Fischer, from Delacombe, was riding a 1985 Kawasaki GPZ750R he restored himself.He used to race sidecars and won "a couple" of titles.He has "three or four" other bikes in the shed at home he tinkers with and has been married since 1964.He tries to get out for a ride once a week.And what does his wife think about it?"She's all right," he grinned. "She doesn't say much."The toy ride, organised by Ballarat Rovers Motorcycle Club, went from Mt Buninyong to City Oval, via Mt Clear.Hundreds of people turned out along the route to wave to the riders, with one man holding a large cardboard sign that simply said "Thank-you!"Brendan Gullifer rode his Honda Goldwing in the ride ? with his wife's permission.