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Myrtle Beach Bike Week is NOT Over, but CITY Mayor Gives the Axe within City Limits.

5 comments Posted by Big Al on January 19, 2009 at 10:34 am

Well. they did it!! The City Mayor and City Council officially ended a 68 year Bike Week tradition in the CITYof MB, but it is NOT really over!!! Ok, so the deal is that they have made some ordinances like ALL RIDERS AND PASSANGERS ON MOTORCYCLES MUST WEAR HELMENTS AND PROTECTIVE EYE WEAR, and NO PARKING 4 MOTORCYCLES in ONE PARKING SPACE, and NO DEFRAUDING YOUR RESTAURANT BILL,  and NO LOUD PIPES, etc, etc, see the rest of the ordinances at http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com or http://www.myrtlebeachharley.com and if you are curious of this info read the letter from the Mayor of Myrtle Beach at http://www.myrtlebeachbikerinfo.com. I will be giong to MBBW with Carolina Cruiser TV Show anyway and I am inviting all my Fans to ride with me again in May. Just because the did this in the City Limits does NOT mean it is over for the County and you can believe there will be bikers there in May. I’m not going in rebellion, but rather to show that there are Bikers out there that are decent and noble. The only thing that has changed is within the CITY there will be no vendors there, but the rest of the County will carry on as it were. so don’t freak out. Go have fun, do right, and avoid the CITY LIMITS, and Big Al and Hayley will see you at the 69th Annual MBBW SPRING RALLY!!!

P.S.> This is the actual letter from the Mayor of Myrtle Beach.

    Dear Visitors,

    Myrtle Beach (City) is no longer the location for two long-running motorcycle events. After many years, our residents grew weary of three weeks of noise and traffic congestion each May, and they asked City Council to end the events. As a result, the Harley-Davidson Dealers Association Spring Rally and the Atlantic Beach Memorial Day Bikefest will not be held in Myrtle Beach.

This was a difficult decision. Myrtle Beach welcomes visitors year-round, but the giant motorcycle rallies simply grew too large. Our staff, residents and businesses strained to keep up with these huge single-focus events. It may surprise you, but our economy is much healthier with a fully diversified visitor base, instead of a concentration on one or two extremely large events.

Please know that Myrtle Beach is not anti-biker or anti-motorcycle. We want folks to come on the vehicle of their choice and enjoy all of the things Myrtle Beach has to offer. We are ending the motorcycle-related rallies because they grew too big and lasted too long. The huge rallies even kept visitors away from Myrtle Beach, and that’s not good.

For everyone’s safety and welfare, City Council has added a few new rules and regulations. We believe these new laws will make Myrtle Beach a safer and more friendly destination. For example, with your safety in mind, we now require that all motorcycle riders and passengers wear a helmet and eye protection. We also have a 1:00 to 6:00 a.m. curfew for everyone under 18. These and other rule changes are explained on this web site.

Thank you for understanding. As you know, Myrtle Beach is a great place to visit, and we welcome you at any time. I look forward to your next visit and am confident that you will have a great time in Myrtle Beach!

Sincerely,

John Rhodes
Mayor

Comments (skip to the comment form)

#1 steve brown said 1 year, 1 month ago

my wife and i both ride and we went to our first rally in october of last year and we had a good time no one was really out of line and people were frindley and we will be back in may and look foward to riding and going to all the boths up at bass pro and all the ones out side the city limits bikers dollars are green also .god bless and everyone ride safe .

#2 Debra Jones said 1 year, 1 month ago

I think all of us bikers should stick together and go to the spring & fall bike weeks but boycott everything in the city of Myrtle Beach.  We have a place at Lakewood Camp Resort and they are always real nice to us bikers and let us bring our bike to our camp site.

#3 mad maxx said 1 year, 1 month ago

I have lived in SC my intire life and MB was my place to go, but not now i will go and spend the 2 to 3 thousand dollars for my vacation around MB city limits but will never ride my bike or car through it again…...

#4 John Niswender said 1 year, 1 month ago

The truth of the matter, that no one is saying, is that these restrictions came from the city wanting to control the chaos of the Atlantic Beach Bike week crowd (not the HD bike week) and having to fear costly lawsuits from those that felt it was discrimination for MB to enact such control. So rather than take the risk of being sued, it was easier to “punish the many for the actions of the few”!  In regard to the rest of the area business’ continuing the bike week festivities, those business’ will not be fighting to overturn the cities decisions unless we bikers boycott the entire event and they are impacted financially.  As long as the decision of the MB city is ignored and accepted, it will set precedent for similar decisions against bikers in the future!  I will be spending the money that I would have normally spent in MB in Daytona this year…if you feel the same, then maybe I’ll see you in Daytona!
Perhaps this is a great opportunity to establish a rally in the Upstate SC/Western NC area.  Ride Safe (and free)!

#5 ray ray said 1 year ago

live to ride ride to live i will be in surfside spending my money outside city limits crusing murrels inlet


                              ray ray

                                  travelers rest sc

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