Myrtle Beach Bike Week

Saturday, May 20, 2000

Click on most of the photos for a larger view.

It's May the 20th and I'm heading to Myrtle Beach for Bike Week. I set my alarm clock for 5 a.m. I must have been dreaming when I said I would meet some fellow riders at 7 a.m. to head for Myrtle Beach. Seven bikes left Cape Fear Harley-Davidson heading south.

We did the back roads thing. Down Hwy 87 to Tar Heel, south on 131/410 to Tabor City. We stopped for fuel and refreshments. Followed 701 out of Tabor City to Conway. We had decided to take 544 and 707 towards Murrells Inlet. Traffic wasn't bad on the way down. At 10 a.m. we pulled into Bullfeathers Bar & Grill.

Nobody was in the parking lot and a call from the porch said, we open in an hour. Everybody headed out their own way to see what Bike Week was all about this year.

Two of us headed toward Sonny's Swap Meet just down the road about a mile. The swap meet is held in a grassy part of the Inlet Mall. Lots of vendors. Seemed like a good place to buy my obligatory T-Shirt. I found a pretty good deal and got three shirts for $20. When I go out on these rides, I enjoy people watching. The swap meet was full of interesting folks. About 45 minutes later we were ready to head for parts unknown.

Vendors were setup everywhere along the way to the Convention Center. It was like one huge group of bikers after another. Bikers of every size and description were heading down the road.

On the way to the Convention Center we passed the new Harley-Davidson dealership just off Hwy 17-BUS. Traffic was backed up for what seemed to be a mile or more in both directions near the dealership. There could have been 1000 bikes in the lot and a steady stream coming and going. I'll head back another day to see the new digs. Looks great from the road.
About noon we pulled into the Convention Center. As with every other place in Myrtle Beach, bikers were everywhere. By now it was showing 95 degrees on the bank sign. Just being inside was great, airconditioning. I'm not sure what I expected (didn't make it last year) but here it is Saturday and still one day before Bike Week was officially to be over. Some of the vendors had closed down and others were packing up before 1 p.m. The moral of the story is, don't wait til the end of Bike Week to go if you want to see everything.

We walked around inside for a while and saw some folks we know. Bob Lawrence from Fayetteville had his bike in the show. The bike show wasn't as big as I thought it would be. Talking to a few other folks, it seems there might have been about three times as many bikes last year. We also saw John Tew from Cape Fear Harley-Davidson. Mrs. Lummus from Gene Lummus Harley-Davidson filled us in on the "Rally in the Valley" event coming up September 15 & 16 in Maggie Valley, NC.

Harley-Davidson brought their big rig, several bikes, accessories, and the Rusty Wallace Race Car on display. No news being published about the 2001 models. I did find out that the new bikes should start showing up at the dealers in August. We stopped by the H.O.G. area and swiped our membership cards for a pin. Wouldn't you know, they ran out of pins so we'll get ours in the mail. Free drinks and a nice place to sit down and relax.

Several of the Harley dealers had a booth setup. The supply of Official T-Shirts (shown in the photo) were running low.

On our way out of the Convention Center we saw a couple arriving. And, a guy not so happily being towed away for repairs. Hope he made it home ok with that dresser.

We had planned to meet back at Bullfeathers before heading home. This time when we arrived, there were plenty of bikers. People and motorcycles everywhere. We had been tipped off about Bullfeathers by Muthuh. He is right, it's a great place and great people. I introduced myself to Carm and met the owner Tom as well. Both really good folks. Carm made me feel right at home. Got myself a beer and chilled out for a while.

Outside was an artist set up under a tree. Dian Marshall came up from Daytona Beach. Her work is fantastic. Check out the photos. Look for Dian when you visit the Rallies, she'll be the good looking blonde. You won't be disappointed with her work. Drop her a line at glamouratures@aol.com and see where she will be next or invite her to come to your rally.

At 3:45 p.m. it was time to head home. We took the same route back and practically had the road to ourselves. What a great day and great ride. We saw lots of things and made some new friends. Besides being in the wind and enjoying the ride, I look forward to meeting new folks. Carm at Bullfeathers is a must see person the next time I'm down Myrtle Beach way. Thanks Carm for making me feel at home! Dian, I'll look forward to seeing you again and have my picture drawn. I hope our paths will cross at another biker event.