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Location: Lakewood NJ/Murrells Inlet SC/ N. Naples FL/Swainton NJ
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After we arrived at our Townhouse in Murrells Inlet at 1:30 am I took the dog for a short walk. I could still hear, at that hour, all kinds of bike exhaust racket coming from 17 through the mile of woods in between. Not a good sign!
Actually, it's a very good sign! Means the bikers haven't totally gone away from the area and are still spending some money. Many of the restaurants and hotels depend on them to sustain them thru the year. Mayor Rhodes has effectively destroyed a good part of the commerce with his policies on bikers, sadly. The Harley riders tip VERY well, are extremely friendly and are far less likely the group they were trying to remove. But he removed the baby with the bathwater...
Native-
Nice close minded comment you make there.... I'm glad you think I'm a participant in a clown show.
Yes, I ride. Yes, your comment is offensive. Yes, I take the stance of the select voting residents of MB to heart and quite personally. Yes, I am open minded enough to think that there could have very well been a compromise had an real effort been put into it. Yes, I live here. Yes, I pay taxes on a couple autos, my home etc.
Yes, I also await your reply.
PS- Unless you walk everywhere you go, you, yourself, drive a noisemaker... so careful on the stones you throw in that glass house, ok?
Now, back to the OP's question... This rally has been significantly quieter than any I've seen since I've lived here for 16+ years. I think the message has been sent loud and clear that bikers simply are not welcome in Myrtle Beach any longer. That message has resulted in the huge downturn in the 60 some odd year old Spring Rally.
I bet I haven't seen 100 bikes since Wed BUT I haven't been down to the Inlet nor up to NMB to see what traffic is like there. Very good friends own The Beaver Bar and they say that biker traffic has taken a huge hit this year thus far.
Regardless, everyone should be aware that bikers are around you while driving, not just during bike week, but each and every day. Please be careful and we'll do the same.
After seeing a report on News 13 I see that it's not just MB's mayor who's squashed the rally with hamfisted tactics, the county has helped! They have cut the length of the permits from 10 days to 7days. He does seem to have county backing for his crusade. At the same times I'm seeing polliticians crowing on and on about freedom from gov't intrusion and the possible burden of Universal Health Care. No one cares about the burden of making up for the budget shortfall plummeting rally permt revenues have on the county. Where's our reps on that issue? No one cares about the abuse of police power that's been displayed these last two years that's destroyed our freedom of assembly?
The subtext is that they hope to kill off the Memorial Day/Black Bike Week. Here's a secret....all they had to do was enforce the laws they had already! It's not legal to go nuts walking about with your booty hanging. Thongs aren't even allowed here. You can't cruise, drink and drive, drink and walk, you can't run wild making a racket 'til all hours. They could have dealt with all that, retraining people how to act and still gotten the money! They haven't banned the Spring Breakers who regularly get thrown out, harrass, get drunk and drive/walk, stroll about with their butts hanging. Just foolish.
Several times I planned a beach trip and did not know it was "bike week" and the entire time I was there I heard bike noise to the point it really made me start going at other times or not at all. Many many people feel this way and thats one of the reasons the city did what it did. It didnt want to stop bike week but it had to do something to create a quite area for the no bike noise crowd, As far as clowns yes I have seen plenty of them on bike week, like the 2 biker looking types that ran the light at an intersection I almost entered. . The one in the side car had a crazy grin on his face as he held on missing a most likely fatal crash,,,,
We were in MB last week and I heard bits and pieces about the bikers not coming like they used to and something about laws being changed. I'm curious, what laws were enacted that specifically affected the bikers? I also heard something on a commercial for a local leather store about "not having to worry about helmets" in Surfside Beach, the implication to me being that helmets are required in MB. Is that part of the issue?
Well, it's just part of the issue. They tried to inact a sound ordinance, but that wound up encompasing busses, delivery trucks, etc. The Mayor soon found out that if you couldn't have THOSE in the city, you'd have even more serious problems than bikers. He got the other towns to agree by strongholding them. Thankfully some of them welcome the bikers with open arms.
Honestly, this isn't rocket science. You don't like Bike Week? Come another time. It's a w-e-e-k. We used to come all times of the year before we moved here, never bothered us one bit. Working here in the restaurant business is VERY fun at that time. You get to see and meet all kinds of people. Harley week is fun as anything. Black Bike week isn't too bad, but sometimes you get people who walk out w/o paying their bills, and that hurts the businesses. But all in all, they make more money than they loose.
Ok, now you say you want the POLICE to actually protect and serve? Are you serious? You obviously aren't from around here or don't read the news enough to know they are so weak here. They are more interested in giving out speeding tickets (which still needs to be done, obviously, since there's many horrid drivers) than taking care of the bazillion other laws they should be enforcing. They need a stronger police force, a less corrupt government, and a Mayor who wants the town to make money.
I do think that bringing in sports is a great idea, however. But in all honesty, I don't see that replacing the lost income the bikers bring, but that could change down the road.
It's a 2 way street in reality. If the biker groups acted appropriately (not having sex on their bikes, riding half nude, not trashing the hotels, paying their bills, etc), there would have been no need to inact any of the laws to kick them out of town. I can see THAT part of why it was done. We aren't talking about the Harley riders here, it's the "other" bike week.
Well, it's just part of the issue. They tried to inact a sound ordinance, but that wound up encompasing busses, delivery trucks, etc. The Mayor soon found out that if you couldn't have THOSE in the city, you'd have even more serious problems than bikers. He got the other towns to agree by strongholding them. Thankfully some of them welcome the bikers with open arms.
Honestly, this isn't rocket science. You don't like Bike Week? Come another time. It's a w-e-e-k. We used to come all times of the year before we moved here, never bothered us one bit. Working here in the restaurant business is VERY fun at that time. You get to see and meet all kinds of people. Harley week is fun as anything. Black Bike week isn't too bad, but sometimes you get people who walk out w/o paying their bills, and that hurts the businesses. But all in all, they make more money than they loose.
Ok, now you say you want the POLICE to actually protect and serve? Are you serious? You obviously aren't from around here or don't read the news enough to know they are so weak here. They are more interested in giving out speeding tickets (which still needs to be done, obviously, since there's many horrid drivers) than taking care of the bazillion other laws they should be enforcing. They need a stronger police force, a less corrupt government, and a Mayor who wants the town to make money.
I do think that bringing in sports is a great idea, however. But in all honesty, I don't see that replacing the lost income the bikers bring, but that could change down the road.
It's a 2 way street in reality. If the biker groups acted appropriately (not having sex on their bikes, riding half nude, not trashing the hotels, paying their bills, etc), there would have been no need to inact any of the laws to kick them out of town. I can see THAT part of why it was done. We aren't talking about the Harley riders here, it's the "other" bike week.
I can't tell if your post is directed toward mine. If it is, didn't you just say the same things I did? I said they already have laws against the things they don't like and all they have to do is enforce them. I said the bikers conduct, white and black is as bad as Spring Breakers and should be curbed. "We" aren't just talking about black bikers. "We" residents are talking about all visitors reigning it in but still coming to visit and spend. "Others" want to pretend bad conduct only happens during Black Bike Week. Then I noted that it's glaring that the city plays favorites by welcoming Sping Breakers but shunning the bikers. Finally, I do come from the South Carolina and do expect the police to actually do more than hand out tickets. They solve murders, they can enforce nuisance laws. Just enforce them consistently.
Ticatica, you crack me up! You expect them to enforce the laws?! They are the same ones that break them!! I was actually responding to "canudigit" as you and I pretty much said the same thing.
Unfortunately, it was their own actions that made them get the laws enacted, but the Mayor went a bit too far. I understand the noise bothered the locals down in the city, and that's why many of them backed the Mayor. The businesses are the ones that got hurt. But in reality? The bikers got the last laugh. They go around MB to other towns, and that's where they spend their money.
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