Myrtle Beach Rumbling

The Issue:

Empty streets and stores abandoned by angry motorcycle riders caused many Myrtle Beach business owners to begin asking for the removal of Mayor John Rhodes and Myrtle Beach City Council members.

Protests began Sunday on Ocean Boulevard, the last day of the Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson Cruisin' the Coast spring rally.

Rumbles of discontent spread quickly along Ocean Boulevard.

Hotel owner Jack Rabon said rooms at The Diplomat and the Chesterfield Inn remained empty, and he does not know if that will change next week.

"We have always had 100 percent occupancy during bike week," Rabon said.

"We've had 10 or 12 rooms rented this year. We're going to take matters into our own hands. [The city council] absolutely took our business away."

Rabon's van was decorated with signs asking people to oust Rhodes and the council.

He said others were joining the protest this week.

Rhodes could not be reached for comment Sunday evening.

"I hope when he [Rhodes] goes to bed at night, he thinks about how many people he destroyed," said Karon Mitchell, Rabon's sister.

Meanwhile, organizers of the Atlantic Beach Bikefest said they are proceeding with plans for their rally.

The Atlantic Beach Bikefest begins Friday and runs through Memorial Day weekend.

"We're still hosting the event, and it is still going forward as planned," said Atlantic Beach Town Manager Kenneth McIver.

"We might be a little bit down, but are still expecting a large number of people."

The town had sold about 10 vendor permits by Friday, McIver said.

About 80 vendors set up shop last year, he said.

In Myrtle Beach, there were no problems with traffic on Sunday, said Myrtle Beach Police Cpl. Bill New.

Police answered the usual calls for service throughout the weekend, New said. "It was a lot smoother," he said. "We didn't have a lot of noise because we had fewer bikers this year."

Some riders said they were not bothered by the new helmet laws, and would return next year, New added.

There have been two motorcycle deaths this year, both of which occurred Friday night, according to the S.C. Highway Patrol.

Last year, there were three fatalities, Collins said.

Many riders left the beach by late Saturday or early Sunday.

"We did see a lot of motorcycle traffic Saturday around the south end and North Myrtle Beach," Collins said. "We had some congestion around the local hot spots, but overall, traffic moved very smoothly." -TheSunNews.com

My Issue:

Friday evening, my buddy and I drove down Ocean Blvd., and we both remarked at how Quiet it was. Usually, when the Harley-Davidson rally is in town, the stretch of Ocean Blvd., we drove would have been bumper to bumper and nosey. But this year, QUIET, eerily so. And as we passed hotels and motels, one after the other had vacancy signs lit. One, you could stay three nights and get the fourth free … unheard of at this time of the year! Even outside of the city it was eerily quiet. At night I could sit on my front porch and hear the bickers, but not this year.

Have to say, we have no one other than our wonderful Hitler Mayor, John Rhodes, and our stupid city council to blame. They LITERALLY SCREWED the City of Myrtle Beach! And the trickle down affect, not good! Both Friends and Acquaintances of mine who work in the hospitality industry figured that tips were down 70% and hours cut. Talk about being pissed!

During past normal Harley rallies, one could walk out with $100 per day in tips and work up to 40 hours … not this year! Everyone LOST money, well almost everyone … the police department sure took in their share in fines. Gees!, they were out in force … it almost felt like a police state. Everywhere you turned sat a police car. Their show of force was unprecedented to be sure. But as for the hospitality segment of what Myrtle Beach is all about, not good and they are down right angry.

Now I’m sure that Hitler Rhodes and his city council cronies will place the blame on the economy, and I have to be fare and say probably. But when the city is used to seeing some 500,000 attendees drop to probably 100,000, the Mayor’s office is going to get a lot of flack. As a matter of fact, some are now calling for Rhodes impeachment. And I’m sure, election time, the city council will see a change too, and rightfully so! They screwed the city!

This coming weekend Bikefest (known as black bike week) will begin. It will be interesting to see it’s attendance. Course, the majority of Myrtle Beach residence don’t want them here … they are a handful and do cause a lot of problems. Thus, not wanting them here is justified. As a matter of fact, because of the Bikefest, the welcome wagon for all bikers has been withdrawn. Nonetheless, this money making event will be interesting to watch as well. If this event equals the Harley-Davidson rally, there’s going to be some really pissed off businesses and the finger pointing will certainly ensue come the day after Memorial Day … rightfully so!!!!

As for the impeachment of our bone-head Mayor, I’m all for it ... Sign me up! Can't stand the S.O.B. I keep telling my Friends and Acquaintances that I’d run for Mayor of Myrtle Beach. First order of business, undo the current Mayor’s wrongful withdrawal of the cities welcome mat for bikers, specially the Harley-Davidson riders … the Harley-Davidson rally was one of the cities bread and butter.