Carolina Girl's blog: "Carolina Bike Rally"

News reel from this weekends Carolina Bike Rally

Smooth riding for motorcycle rally that brought thousands to area

April 26, 2009 - 5:43 PM

 
With no known community complaints or law enforcement troubles, this weekend's Carolina Bike Rally was a "huge success," organizers said.

The rally, held for the first time in Onslow County, was easily the second largest in the state, trumped only by Cherokee's annual Survivors Motorcycle Rally, said Mark Infield, editor of Full Throttle, a magazine for motorcycle enthusiasts.

More than 5,000 bikers registered at the rally held at Cabin Creek Campground on U.S. 17 and an estimated 8 to 10,000 more bikers were in the area for the event, said chief organizer Steve Winsett.

Not surprisingly, the rally was a real boon to the nearby New River Harley-Davidson. But sales manager Tracy Murphy said the opportunity exists to turn the rally into a yearly economic boost to the area.

"I'd like to see it catch on and other businesses get involved," he said. "It could be a real plus for the area."

Winsett said the rally would return next year and hopefully be even bigger.

Tammy White, a self-proclaimed "real biker chick" who rides a Harley VRSCA V-Rod, said she would return in 2010.

"We rode from Richmond to be here," she said. "It was nice. I liked that it was spread out. A lot of the rallies we go to are crammed into a small place. Not this one."

The rally had more vendors than any rally in North Carolina, organizers said.

Leather dealers, jewelry purveyors, motorcycle part merchants and food sellers from as far away as Oregon and Texas set up temporary shop at the event.

"We had a lot of local vendors too," said Ron Johnson who was in charge of vending for the rally. "When we come back next year there will be even more. By then people will have seen the favorable impact we've had on the local economy."

Local economic leaders are already taking note, said Mona Padrick, president of the Jacksonville-Onslow Chamber of Commerce.

"Anytime you have that amount of people coming into the area, it is good for business," she said.

Visiting bikers paid county sales tax on any food, fuel and supplies they purchased and bikers who stayed in area hotels paid the county occupancy tax, Padrick said.

Local hotels did not report a big jump in business as most of the bikers stayed at the campground, but restaurants benefited, according to phone interviews with several local businesses.

"We definitely saw a spike in business because of the rally," said H.J. Mitchell, a manager at Logan's Roadhouse on Western Boulevard.

For a good cause

The rally also raised money for to benefit Hope for the Warriors, a non-profit organization that provides support to wounded service members and their families.

"They're a real group of angels," Winsett said of the organization.

Although Hope is a national organization, it began in Jacksonville, said Don Gray, chairman of the board for Hope for the Warriors.

"Our home is still in Jacksonville and it is good to see something like this in our backyard help those who have been injured," Gray said.

No tallies can be made until the bills are all paid, but 100 percent of what is left will go to Hope, Winsett said.

"The trouble for the wounded is never over," Winsett, a Vietnam War veteran, said. "They go home and they and their families have to live with their wounds."

Hope helps with not only the immediate needs of the wounded, but by also providing mentors and help with teaching new trades to amputees, Gray said.

Hope for the Warriors helped the rally's guest of honor and grand marshal, former Marine Lance Cpl. Zachary Fincannon, and his family attend the event.

Fincannon lost his left arm at the elbow in Fallujah four years ago. His father helped build a custom three-wheeled motorcycle which allows Fincannon to switch gears with his foot.

"Without a hitch"

Organizers say the rally went off "without a hitch" and local law enforcement agreed.

"It was a fairly quiet weekend," said Lt. Pat Traitor with the Jacksonville Police Department.

The Onslow County Sheriff's Department and the N.C. State Highway Patrol reported no major incidents. The N.C. Department of Transportation made preparations for traffic congestion and reported that the rally was not disruptive to normal traffic flow in the area except at the intersection of U.S. 17 and Dawson Cabin Road, which was expected.

The only reported traffic incident happened when a motorcyclist was clipped by a car at the intersection Saturday afternoon. No one was seriously injured, according to the Highway Patrol.

"Things went smooth," Winsett said.

He said organizers brought their plans to county and city officials early on and made the changes recommended by authorities.

"Everyone worked together," he said. "I can't say one bad thing about the county, city or DOT. They all did what they said they would do."

Area residents along U.S. 17 apparently did not complain either. Onslow County Sheriff's Inspector Rick Sutherland said he was unaware of any reported complaints about the bike rally made to the Sheriff's Department.

Dawson Cabin Road resident Judy Baker said the rally did not bother her as much as she thought it might.

"I thought it would be bad, but it wasn't that big a deal," she said. "There is always traffic at the campground. This weekend there was just a lot more. I didn't go anywhere so it didn't bother me."