NATIONAL CITY, Calif. (KGTV)- A bike giveaway in National City will go on during the Pandemic, continuing a five decade tradition of helping low-income families in Southern San Diego.
"The motorcycle community steps up to the plate every year," says organizer Brian "Snowman" Trum, with the Boozefighters Motorcycle Club. "This year was pretty grim with the COVID and everything."
Traditionally, people line up in National City for the giveaway. Some even camp out over night. The motorcycle club gives away hundreds of bikes and toys every year.
But County health restrictions make much of that impossible during the Pandemic.
Trum says his group made sweeping changes to the way they'll do the event this year, to keep everyone safe.
"We have masks to give away for people who don't have them. We'll have tape in the street for where you can stand, where you shouldn't stand. And we have gallons of hand sanitizer," he says.
Santa will also make an appearance, but this year he'll be behind a booth to keep social distance.
In addition to the physical aspects of running the bike giveaway, the Pandemic also brought problems with donations. Trum says his group usually starts buying and building bikes before Thanksgiving, but this year they had no money at that time.
Some late donations helped salvage the event, showing how generous the community can be.
"After a couple weeks, money started coming in. We got some really generous donations by people we've known who have helped us out over the years. So it looks like we're going to have a great Christmas," says Trum.
