Businesses report strong turnout for Bike Week

Off the Wire
News
First some Alpha Biker commentary... news coming out of Myrtle Beach Bike Week is a lesson in critical thinking... the truth of the attendance of this rally is out there somewhere... my perception is that numbers were up from last year in those areas that are traditional stops outside of the Myrtle Beach City Limits. This rally is far from dead folks... it is just evolving like Daytona did when downtown made it clear they didn't want us. Keep this one on your list!

----------------

MURRELLS INLET, SC (WMBF) - The Harley Davidson "Cruisin' the Coast" motorcycle rally officially wrapped up on Sunday, but many businesses along the Grand Strand said they're still trying to figure out how successful of a week it was.

"It was absolutely wonderful," Brenda Benton said, who works at Coastal Gas. "We had the best we we've had since the store opened."

Not all workers, however, were thrilled with the outcome of the bike rally.

"I had really planned on it being busier," Jennifer Morris said, who is a bartender at S.B.B in Murrells Inlet. "I was thinking I would make $500 a day, and it definitely wasn't that."

On Monday, Horry County Police told WMBF News that they saw a decrease in the number of citations and issues related to the biker festivities.

"I would say it was a good weekend," said Lt. Keith Strickland of the Horry County Police Department.

The South Carolina Highway Patrol also reported a drop in the number of accidents compared to the same timeframe in 2009. During last year's rally, three people were killed and under two dozen accidents were reported.

Statistics show the 2010 rally involved one fatality and a 9 percent drop in the number of accidents on state highways.

original article