One of the organizers of Memorial Day BikeFest reacts to new ordinances and the Harley Rally
Horry County Emergency Management released the final numbers for the Spring Harley Rally that just ended.The EOC says there were 43 wrecks involving motorcycles during the ten-day rally. That is down 68-percent from last year. Officers wrote nearly 2,500 citations this year. That's actually a four percent increase from 2008. Those citations include all motorists, not just bikers. Three bikers died during the rally.
While we don't have exact attendance figures, there's no doubt fewer bikers came to Horry County last week. The spokesman for Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson blames the low turnout on Myrtle Beach City Council and the ordinances council passed to curb the rallies.
Myrtle Beach City Councilman Mike Chestnut says the economy also played a part in the low rally numbers. Chestnut adds many residents who had complained to council welcomed the lower biker turnout.
Councilman Chestnut says the next step is for council to work with the chamber and other organizations to figure out how to offset losses.
The second bike rally for May is about to start. It’s the Memorial Day Bike Fest.
I spoke with Hakim Harrell of Philadelphia, C.E.O. of the Cycle Shoe International. He’s one of the main organizers for Memorial Day Bike Fest. Harrell also tells me he recently opened a helmet shop on Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach.
Harrell says he's the only organizer to have a special events permit for this bike weekend from Horry County.
Harrell was in town during the Spring Rally to see how the new ordinances would impact the rally. He says, “First and foremost the ordinances have definitely deterred people from coming to the area. I think it's backfired. They tried to keep all people from coming, but they still came. They got their wish to eliminate some of the bikers from coming to the city, but bikers are still coming to north and south strand. The city was successful in deterring people, but not eliminating bike weeks. Our goal is to not spend money in the city if we can avoid it. We're excited to see what happens.”
Harrell says all of the Memorial Day events are on the north end outside the city limits. He says, “We have a great show we're putting together with custom bikes, custom cars, lots of food, and bike club people can compete and be involved. We have a Dunkin Donuts eating contest, a Hooters Wings eating contest, a hot dog eating contest and more. “
Harrell also says he is 95 percent sold out of his vending space for this year, which is located at Club 2001 at 920 lake Arrowhead Road.
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