Business owners say rally turnout decent, could be better
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Bikers north end
Bikers north end
Marshall Staton/WBTW
Published: May 13, 2009
Updated: May 14, 2009
By most accounts, the 2009 Harley-Davidson spring rally is slow for many businesses, vendors, and even bikers. Harley-Davidson spokesman Mike Shank says the overall numbers are fair, but they should be much better than they are. But Shank says he is thankful for the people who are here to experience the event.
And while many bikers are avoiding Myrtle Beach and many of its businesses, some businesses are benefiting.
Candy Putt runs The Cycle Patch booth at Myrtle Beach Mall and the company is also set up at two other locations, Barefoot Landing and the Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson shop, outside of Myrtle Beach. Putt says the turnout at the Myrtle Beach Mall has been up and down, but she will continue to support the rally.
“We’ll probably always come, as long as they let us, unless they scare us away, like in the fall.“ Putt said.
“Doghouse” Dave Ankin, owner of The Doghouse on the north end, said many longtime customers did not come back this year. He said there are only a limited number of people at the rally. And while he is seeing the benefits of more bikers, because many are not going into Myrtle Beach at all, he said he feels badly for other business owners.
“They (bikers) want to boycott the city, boycott the city and I understand driving around it, you know you don’t want a ticket, you don’t want to get any headaches, I understand all that, and we’ve made it available for them to do that, but it’s also a shame that they’ve done that.“ Ankin said.
At HB Spokes Saloon, manager Keith Rogers said many bikers just didn’t come because they don’t know what to expect. Rogers said the atmosphere is not the same, morale is low and a lot of people just stayed away.
“I think we are seeing the benefits of it, but now I think people have not come, uh now we’re getting more people to come this way, but we’re not getting as many.”
Rogers said he’s hoping word of mouth will spread that north end is OK, the south end is OK, if Myrtle Beach doesn’t want rally goers, he says they are more than welcome on the north end.
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Reader Reactions
The price of following the bigots at the country club is pretty steep.
I hate to say this because you will all get mad at me but I believe that I am right about this. The only people that are as slow and as uninformed as these little old men and women that are against the rallies, are the bikers that made reservations in side Myrtle Beach city limits last year and then decided to show up for the spring rally in spite of the boycott. Many of these people are angry at Myrtle Beach for the constant harassment that they received while staying in Myrtle Beach this week. Just what did they think was going to happen? What a bunch of candy pansies. And then they had the rest of the bikers mad at them for breaking the boycott and spending money inside city limits. I personally drove around Myrtle Beach talking with these red neck posers and was saddened at the responses that I got from them. It did not take me long to realize that this group of so called bikers were not the same as the rest of us. I would call them undercover morons, but they were not so undercover. Many of these in side city limits people got so up set that they have already left town and headed back home where they belong. So now only us well informed true brethren are still on the Grand Strand. The Grand Strand Rocks on with out Myrtle Beach. I have to wonder how all these tourist did not know that their was a boycott. Just may be it has something to do with all are un-news networks not talking about the boycott. So far in the last 6 month the local media has only used the word boycott three times, two of which were not until just recently. So now all those drunken red neck poser wannabee, lone bikers have sworn to never return. I hope the rest of us will not let this group of angry slow minded riders that are out of touch with everything that is going on, will not let their toxic attitudes destroy are annual rallies. So far most of you have been great to keep coming to the Grand Strand and continuing to support are boycott. The Grand Strand Rocks on with out Myrtle Beach. So please do not let this small group that where so arrogant that they thought that they could just ignore are local politics, stay in Myrtle Beach, spend money even during are boycott and then not be hassled by Myrtle Beach law enforcement or those of us that are all part of the boycott. I personally like the Grand Strand better now, that all these wannabees have left. If my words have angered you then it is probably because you know I am right. Time to look in the mirror. Myrtle Beach is for posers, while the rest of the Grand Strand Rocks on with out them.
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