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2,000 motorcyclists to visit Md.; S.C. enacts laws to tame event that's 100 times larger
OCEAN CITY -- A smaller contingent of the motorcycle club that floods Myrtle Beach, S.C., each Memorial Day weekend with hundreds of thousands of riders is expected in Ocean City this weekend.
The New York-based motorcycle club has gathered in Myrtle Beach each year since 1980. The event there has grown to such proportions that government officials and law enforcement have enacted new laws and policies in an attempt to keep order during the event. In 2008, the city's leaders implemented heavier safety mandates and imposed more than a dozen restrictions on noise, loitering, parking and more.
Contrary to rumors that the event is migrating from Myrtle Beach and will bring hundreds of thousands of riders into Ocean City, the smaller group of the motorcycle club descending on Ocean City is expected to draw about 2,000 participants. Organizers say they picked Ocean City because it's less expensive and closer to home.
This is the second year the predominantly African-American club had the event in Ocean City; last year, several hundred bikers motored into town for Memorial Day, joining an estimated 270,000 people in the resort.
"Like they used to say in the '60s, it's a happening," said Doug Dods, chief deputy with the Worcester County Sheriff's Office. "We're paying attention. My concern is the flood of motorcycles when we're not used to seeing them. We're used to seeing the bikes in September during Delmarva Bike Week. They were in town last year, and we didn't have any issues."
A flier posted online explains that the Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Imperial Biker's MC is hosting its second Ocean City Memorial Weekend Getaway from Friday through Monday. It says the host hotel is the Stowaway Grand, with overflow going to the Crystal Beach Hotel, Dunes Manor Hotel, Courtyard Marriott and Holiday Inn at 67th Street.
Plans for the group include a cookout at Northside Park, as it did last year, said Tamika Gibbs, Imperial Biker's spokeswoman. She said when the group applied last year for a cookout permit with the parks department, organizers soon were contacted by Ocean City police to offer assistance with the event.
"They welcomed us with open arms last summer," said Gibbs, who also goes by her biker nickname, "Red Bone." "I've never experienced that kind of hospitality in my travels. They have been very helpful in the whole planning process for next weekend.
"Actually, our vice president speaks with the police department at least three times a week," for planning, Gibbs said.
Ocean City Police Chief Bernadette DiPino confirmed her department has spoken with organizers.
Larger event stays put in South Carolina
Down in Myrtle Beach, the event called Atlantic Beach Bikefest continues to grow.
Recent articles in Myrtle Beach-area newspapers indicate neighboring towns North Myrtle Beach and Atlantic Beach are making plans for more than 100,000 bikers and other visitors this weekend, with draws of stunt shows, food vendors and concerts.
The Sun News in Myrtle Beach reported several City Council members have moved to end the event. Citing complaints of traffic and noise caused by the 200,000 riders who converge on the beach resort each Memorial Day weekend, Mayor John Rhodes told residents, "We don't need these rallies. We can fill all the hotel rooms without bike weeks."
Gibbs said what's been happening in Myrtle Beach didn't influence the decision to come to Ocean City. Like a lot of summer travelers, the club was influenced by the economy.
"That was never a factor," she said. "Myrtle Beach is a tradition. We just wanted to try something different. We needed to get something closer and more economical, and just to try something new -- and that's the best experience of all. It was never a competition thing between the two locations.
Gibbs expects about 2,000-3,000 participants and laughed when asked if that many would rumble down Coastal Highway.
"Myrtle Beach had 30 years to get into the hundreds of thousands of people arriving there," she said.
Gibbs said plans are already under way to expand this event in 2011 to Salisbury and WinterPlace Park. She said the club is already working with the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office and Salisbury's parks department, and plans to bring a group of riders down for Delmarva Bike Week in September.
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