Myrtle Beach motorcycle rally. Those little words stirred up a lot of controversy within the motorcycle community over the past year or so. It still stings. Well, the latest news from the Beach is that it is looking quite likely that the Harley-Davidson Dealers Rally may be held in North Myrtle Beach in May 2010.
This Harley-Davidson rally is being planned to coincide for 5 days with the Cruising the Coast Spring Rally. The Cruising the Coast Spring Rally is planned for May 7th thru 16th.
In 2009, the City of Myrtle Beach passed several ordinances in an attempt to stop the traditional Myrtle Beach Bike Weeks from taking place there. I’m a motorcycle safety advocate and a helmet wearer, but I even think it was too extreme when the city enacted their own helmet law regardless of the state of South Carolina stance on helmets.
The Myrtle Beach helmet law is now being challenged in South Carolina Supreme Court. This will take several months, so don’t expect any changes for the 2010 Spring Rally.
While Myrtle and North Myrtle are both within Horry County, North Myrtle Beach is actually a separate city. The “anti biker rally” ordinances of Myrtle Beach do not apply in North Myrtle, so the show can go on if all gets approved. The approval process is moving forward in a positive way so far.
We’ll have to keep an eye on the North Myrtle Beach City Council and the North Myrtle Beach Public Safety Committee, while they keep an eye on the proposed events. There are vending permit ordinances to be considered, and no decision has been made yet on those, other than to postpone their decision to a later meeting.
As of this writing, the Carolina Harley-Davidson Dealers Association still plans on a rally in New Bern, NC on May 14th and 15th, 2010 at the New Bern Fairgrounds. There will be a Ride-In bike show held Saturday May 15th.
None of the related motorcycle rally events will be held within the City of Myrtle Beach.
