OGDEN — In a thunder as loud as … well, 50 Harley-Davidsons, about 80 motorcycle riders donned their skid lids and headed up Ogden Canyon on Saturday morning to make some noise and raise some money for the Ogden-Weber Children's Justice Center.

"I'll take pretty much any reason to ride, especially on a day like this," said Rich Roseblatt, yelling over the din of fellow riders and the rumble of his own Harley Fat Boy. "I didn't know a thing about the center before the ride. But I think it's a great way to do something for these kids."

"These kids" are the 600 to 1,000 children in northern Utah who come to the center each year for safe haven as victims or witnesses to a crime — most often sexual abuse.

The center is one of 15 statewide operated as a public/private partnership with the state justice and child welfare agencies, along with nonprofit groups that volunteer to make sure the kids feel safe during what arguably will be the most traumatic and emotionally disorienting event of their lives.

"It's too bad that kids have to go through such things, but we're glad we can give them a safe space to go to help keep the trauma as minimal as possible," said center manager Roberta Dustin.

Key to that effort is providing a central location where those assigned to an abuse case can coordinate and track various agencies involved through an investigation and prosecution by the courts, as well as the follow-up visits for a child's medical and emotional needs.

By doing so, a child is spared multiple contacts and interviews with professionals who are responding to possible abuse complaints.

"Kids are resilient and delicate, and if they're here, they're in a difficult and delicate situation," Dustin said, noting that maintaining the trust of kids who often have good reason not to trust adults is a chief concern of the center.

The chief concern of the riders was getting going. They donated $25 to be part of the police-escorted parade out of town to the mouth of Ogden Canyon and to a scheduled regrouping at Kelly's Roadhouse in Stoddard in Morgan County for chili dogs.

Five stops were scheduled along the way — not to rest but to collect a playing card for a kind of rolling "poker" hand that was redeemable for prizes.

The ride is the first that the center has officially sponsored. But given the turnout and enthusiasm for Saturday's ride, it looks to become one of two annual fundraisers for the center, said Claudia Raab, Friends of the Center board chairwoman. The next one is scheduled the first Saturday in May.

For more information, visit www.CJCOgden.org.

E-mail:jthalman@desnews.com