City Says No More Myrtle Beach Rallies

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Found this another website:

MYRTLE BEACH, SC - Mayor John Rhodes has posted a statement on a city-created website to announce that the City of Myrtle Beach will no longer host any motorcycle rallies.

"Myrtle Beach 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," Rhodes said in a statement posted at the website: MyrtleBeachBikeInfo.com.

The site includes a link to new ordinances and laws that will be enforced year-round pertaining to noise, motorcycles, alcohol consumption, property management, curfew and accommodations.

Riders who have attended rallies in Myrtle Beach for more than three decades, diverted to the 2008 Thunder Beach Fall Rally at Panama City Beach, Florida and are making plans to divert to the 2009 Leesburg, Florida rally in April.

Business owners and promoters of the Myrtle Beach spring and fall rallies have been in and out of U.S. District Court this past year fighting the city's attempts to end the rallies that are among the largest in the United States.

Three law suits were filed in response to anti-rally noise ordinances and a helmet law passed by the Myrtle Beach City Council in September that went into full effect Dec. 21, 2008.

Attorney Alice Paylor was in U.S. District Court for about three hours on Oct. 30th to answer questions before Judge Perry Wooten on behalf of her clients, Mike Shank, Highlander Marketing Inc., Festival Promotions LLC and Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson.

Their suit against the City of Myrtle Beach was filed in federal court, Oct. 3rd, two days before this year's fall "Pilgrimage Rally."

Her argument is that the city's declaration of the May motorcyle rallies as a nuisance and the city's ordinance that allows it to recover damages from anyone promoting a public nuisance are vague, unconstitutional and infringe on her clients' first amendment rights.


The Motorcycle Law Group of North Carolina filed a lawsuit Sept. 29th in Horry County Common Pleas Court challenging the city's right to create a local helmet law and to enforce its amended noise ordinance.

Similarly, a suit was filed Oct. 2nd in federal court on behalf of The Dog House Bar & Grill, The Master's Club, Steel Horse Saloon, Club Kryptonite and myrtlebeachbikeweek.com, a site owned and maintained by Sonny Copeland of North Carolina.

No vendor permits were issued within the Myrtle Beach city limits for the fall 2008 "Pilgrimage" rally and vending permits in Horry County fell from 221 to 172, according to Lisa Bourcier, director of county public relations.

While some argue the legal ability to enforce a local helmet law that contradicts state law, the City of Myrtle Beach has continued to move forward with the idea of ending motorcycle rallies within the city limits.

Grand Strand towns such as Garden City, Murrell's Inlet and North Myrtle Beach experienced more traffic during the fall rally, according to county reports.

Attendance at the fall rally was at a 5-year low, according to promoters. The number of tickets issued during the rally was also at a 5-year low, although Myrtle Beach Police logged $37,000 in overtime, according to local news accounts.

The new ordinances have not been adopted by North Myrtle Beach or Horry County.

The established rules will be enforced year round, including a helmet law within the city limits of Myrtle Beach.

There have been heated discussions about the separate rallies that are one week apart in the spring - commonly referred to as "Harley-Davidson Bike Week" and "Black Bike Week" -- with speculation that the H-D spring rally will be invited to return to Myrtle Beach in the future.

Mike Shank, the events promoter for Harley-Davidson of Myrtle Beach continues to ask for help from rally-goers. "If you own property in Myrtle Beach or have stories about how often you come to Myrtle Beach; how much money you spend, etc." You can send information to mike@festivalpromotionsmyrtlebeach.com or to Festival Promotions, Inc., 2105 Cromley Circle, Unit C, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577. FAX: 843-712-2618 Phone: 843-712-2618.


Courtsey of: BikeWeek.com Motorcycle News, Events and Photos

[Hammerhead Pat]

Man, I hope this isn't final. 4 of us rode up this past year in May and it was so much nicer than Daytona in my opinion. It was cleaner, spread out and not nearly as congested, plus for us in Fl. it was a great ride up and back. But you did get the feeling that the 2nd week( Black Bike Week/Sport bike Week) wasn't nearly as welcome as the cruiser crowd. Even if it doesn't happen again, I would still ride back up there, let's face it, all these events are the same, it's all about the ride

[JCourneyaP]

Boo Hoo! Jeez its their loss in revenue. I guess now then need to ban Concerts, Car shows and Mini Golf. Heck those folks ralling out on the beach are a nuisance. The smell of that tanning oil and the college kids drinking. Boy........

I guess if you are a real rebel you can get a large group of about 20,000 bikes and still visit

[classycaveman]

Hey did you hear the mayor also said there will be NO MORE CHRISTMAS. so I guess you all have to change your holiday plans. OR you can act like a biker and say F@#K the mayor. He cant stop sh&t. The Myrtle rally has been going strong for 69 years. and now some blue haired early bird special eating retirees move down there and cry to the mayor about bike noise. ( Dumb f@#kers moved to a tourist area that per capita has more bikes then any other state) . What the mayor did do was write some new city ordinances to break bikers balls. (Loud pipes, Helmets in the city limits, Two bikes per parking space. Etc) What the mayor DID NOT do. was have the ability to cancel a rally where 500,000 bikers come to ride. 90% of the rally was outside the city limits anyway. From Georgetown up to Garden city the party rocks, and your not in the city at all. Take rte 31 north up and around the city and the north end party is going strong and that too is outside the city limits. My crew will be riding down (As usual) and we'll ride our asses off, Party, Eat,Drink, and most importantly SPEND CASH with one difference. We wont spend one cent withing the city limits. When the outside areas do great and the business in the city go hungry, watch how fast the di@khead mayor lasts. And we'll be down for the 70th annual bike week next year too!!!!

[Hammerhead Pat]

Amen brother!! I'm planning on next year also