Wednesday, Apr. 29, 2009
What will May bring us?
“What do you think is going to happen in May?” is the question I keep getting. People are wondering what to expect in regards to attendance at the annual May motorcycle rallies in light of the city of Myrtle Beach’s campaign to end them. The short answer is: they will be smaller, but they are definitely still on.
I have heard many stories from people who have canceled reservations for the rallies and have vowed never to come back, including their family vacations and golf trips. There is no doubt that the efforts of Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhodes and his City Council have successfully reduced the number of tourists who will come to Myrtle Beach this year. Let me repeat that: Mayor John Rhodes and his City Council have successfully reduced the number of tourists who will come to Myrtle Beach this year. How anyone can see that as a victory in these economic times is beyond me.
I was infuriated listening to Steve Porter on WRNN “Hot Talk’’ radio the other day during coverage of the local wild fires. The Weather Channel people were in town and were warning people on national TV to avoid vacationing here because of the fires. Porter, who has been vocal in his opposition to the rallies, had the audacity to complain that the national media reports were discouraging vacationers in these tough economic times and in a tourism-based economy. But he does the same thing every time the conversation turns to the rallies.
Speaking of hypocrisy, even more mind-boggling is the Grande Dunes TV commercial for a chopper giveaway in May featuring Mayor Rhodes sitting on the chopper! That’s their spokes model? Bikers’ public enemy no. 1 is the guy you think is going to sell tickets? If they cost one cent each and they were only selling one ticket I wouldn’t buy it based solely on the fact that Rhodes is associated with the event. Friends and I have e-mailed both the Grande Dunes and the bike builder asking if the chopper is even legal in Myrtle Beach because of the noise restrictions. We’ve gotten no response. I guess the lucky winner can put on their DOT-certified helmet and push their new chopper to the city line.
The irony is that even if officials have managed to run off thousands of people, they have not solved any of what they purport to be as the problems. There will still be traffic issues; there will still be noise; and, as in any large gathering, there will still be some bad apples spoiling the bunch with unwanted behavior, only now the bad apples are pissed off. One of the most common complaints by officials was the strain put on law enforcement. I’m not sure how adding more than a dozen new ordinances will help, since in addition to their normal duties, police in Myrtle Beach now have to enforce helmet and curfew laws, work check points and babysit parking lots for tailgate parties and parking violations.
Local governments have also succeeded in driving some new and existing businesses out. B&M Custom Cycles in Myrtle Beach closed its doors earlier because of the anti-rally efforts. The marquee out front still reads “City Council You Suck” (or something to that effect) on one side and “FUMB” on the other.
I recently spoke to Leslye Beaver, owner of the Beaver Bar in the Horry County section of Murrells Inlet, who told me she is opening a new location in what used to be the Ghost Ship restaurant, which is also in Murrells Inlet on U.S. 17 Business, but further south, putting the bar’s new site in Georgetown County, rather than Horry by about ten feet. The few feet however will make a difference Beaver said, since Horry County restricted her existing location to only one vendor permit during the Harley rally and Georgetown County, who she said seemed excited about getting new business, readily granted her three permits for vendors. It remains to be decided what will become of the existing Beaver Bar location, but I’d encourage everyone to check out the new place. It is a huge building compared to the current Beaver Bar and it will be exciting to see what Beaver and her family, who have always supported the biker community, do with the place.
Finally, let me extend my condolences to the friends and family of Stewart Richardson. Richardson and his wife Robin owned the Rebar in Georgetown. He passed away earlier this month. Funeral services and a time of remembrance were held April 15. I never met Stew, as his friends call him, but my wife Sissy and I have been to the biker-friendly Rebar and I have always heard a lot of nice things him. He will obviously be missed by many.
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