The city of Myrtle Beach South Carolina has made their final decision about hosting the famous Myrtle Beach Bike Weeks. They have formally announced that there will be no more motorcycle rallies hosted in Myrtle Beach.
The 2009 Harley-Davidson Dealers Association Spring Rally and the 2009 Atlantic Beach Memorial Day Bikefest will not be held in Myrtle Beach. Myrtle Beach Mayor, John Rhodes stated that the Myrtle Beach Bike Week rallies in May “grew too big and lasted too long”. It seems odd that a tourist city would say that considering their main focus is to attract tourists.
The residents spoke up and pressured the local elected officials to end it. Mayor Rhodes also stated that the City of Myrtle Beach is NOT against motorcycles or bikers. They just decided to institute “a few new rules and ordinances”. There are 13 new rules and ordinances to be exact. A couple of the big ones are regarding motorcycle helmets and engine noise. First, helmets and eye protection must be worn by riders and passengers whenever the motorcycle is moving in Myrtle Beach, even though this differs from South Carolina state laws. Second, no loud exhaust pipes or mufflers, and no engine revving in Myrtle Beach. The rest of are mainly related to parking, loitering, and alcohol sales. All really make it difficult to consider trying to have a Myrtle Beach Bike Week ever again.
Myrtle Beach is a pretty good place to bring the family for vacation. It also has a lot of retired residents that live there year round after moving down from states like New York and Ohio. May, especially Memorial Weekend, is a huge tourist time for the beaches of South Carolina to regain some of the revenue lost during the off-season. Myrtle Beach generally has no problems attracting middle-class families that come from in state and out of state to visit in their minivans and SUV’s and fill up the hotels and restaurants. This is certainly the type of customers they want, not customers from any Myrtle Beach Bike Week.
The Carolinas also attract a lot of new residents every year that got a big surprise when they visited the Myrtle Beach area on Memorial Weekend in years past due to what became known as Black Bike Week. How can any city stop a Black Bike Week event from taking place on an important holiday weekend? The method decided on here was to simply stop all motorcycle rallies and institute new rules and ordinances that would make it less appealing, or perhaps less feasible, for anyone to try to hold a motorcycle rally there.
Was this a racial thing? Was it an anti-motorcycle thing? You can express your points of view about Myrtle Beach Bike Week here at Motorcycle Information by leaving your comments below.
More details can be found at the city’s motorcycle info site www.myrtlebeachbikerinfo.com.
