Motorcycle rally's start low on gas

By Mike Cherney

Myrtle Beach

The first day of past Harley-Davidson spring rallies filled Broadway at the Beach with tents, trucks and lots of motorcycles. Not this year.

On Friday, only a handful of bikes could be found at the popular shopping, dining and entertainment complex.

"It’s usually a madhouse," said Todd Harrison, 40, from the Boston area, as he arrived on his bike at Broadway at the Beach. "A lot of vendors are usually setting up by now. Even the local bars are saying there’s no business or anything down here."

Due to efforts by some local governments to rein in the Harley-Davidson spring rally and the Atlantic Beach Bikefest, which together brought about 500,000 people to the Grand Strand last year, some businesses that once were major sites for vendors and bikers were uncharacteristically quiet on Friday.

That had owners worried that business this year could be way off, but hopeful traffic will pick up.

"I’ve had literally hundreds of calls about what’s going on," said Jonathan Formo, the owner of RedLine Powersports off U.S. 501, which used to have about 15 vendors for this bike rally but has none now due to new county regulations. "A lot of people still say they’re coming, but a lot of people have said they weren’t."

The city of Myrtle Beach put forth the strongest attempt to curtail the rallies after years of complaints from permanent residents about noise, congestion, crime and rowdy behavior from the rallies. Among other changes, the city eliminated vendors during May and passed a helmet requirement.

Bikers have said the effort is discriminatory, and some businesses have said it will be major economic blow. Some bikers vowed to boycott the city and concentrate in the North and South Strand. Others have said they aren’t coming at all. The Carolina Harley-Davidson Dealer’s Association moved events to New Bern, N.C.

Though the Myrtle Beach rally, called Cruisin’ the Coast, was billed as a 10-day event, many of the vendors only received seven-day permits due to new Horry County regulations and are not setting up until Monday.

A survey of hotel occupancy by the Clay Brittain Jr. Center for Resort Tourism at Coastal Carolina University is not encouraging, at least for businesses relying on biker bucks. Bookings for vacation rentals for the upcoming week are down 34 percent, it said.

Myrtle Beach’s ban on vendors means Broadway at the Beach, normally brimming with sales tents, has none because it is within the city limits. The mall, owned by Burroughs and Chapin Co. Inc., is planning a concert series for the upcoming week.

"We have taken no position as a company," the statement said, referring to Myrtle Beach’s effort to curtail the motorcycle rallies. "We do not anticipate a decrease in traffic, and have not heard any feedback from our tenants to make us think otherwise."

Others, though, disagreed. At M.R. Ducks, a clothing store in the complex, manager Robin Barnhill said she ordered fewer biker T-shirts than in previous years. She said she planned to put out signs in front of the store indicating to bikers that they are welcome inside.

"It’s really quiet today," said Barnhill, adding that the store does 50 percent of its May business during the rally. "The first day is usually quiet, but it’s definitely more quiet than normal."

Some bikers who showed up there Friday were surprised.

"We didn’t really expect there to be a lot of people," said Gretchen Buckner, who was visiting with her husband, Danny, 61, from Asheville, N.C. "But it’s worse than I expected."

Ed and Ellie Tolland, who rode from North Conway, N.H., said many of their friends back home decided not to come because of the city’s efforts. They were only in Myrtle Beach for a few days as part of a larger road trip that took them to Key West, Fla.

"It should be jammed," said Ellie Tolland, 58, said at Broadway at the Beach. "It’s too bad."

Not all stores there thought business would suffer. Stuart Locklair, manager at Sunglass Hut, said more families would probably be encouraged to shop since there were fewer bikers around.

"It’s not any worse so far, so you can go only better if it’s not going worse," he said of the first day’s business. "But you’ll have a better feel of it come Monday."