Weeklong Rally? - Every great motorcycle rally has to have a 1st!
9/14/2005 Raleigh, NC BIKERS USA
Could the 1st Annual Capital City Bikefest kickstart from two days into a full blown weeklong rally ending with exciting AHDRA Harley drag races at The Rock?
The answer is YES! It is very possible!
Some 1st annual bike rallies try to get started without having either a race or top name live entertainment. The 8 days from 10/7 - 10/16 already has both! Every once in a while, a 1st Annual motorcycle event is built around both, and is destined to become a traditional annual event. People talk about legends of the 1st rally for many years to come, and say things like “I went to the 1st and every year since then.”
Thanks to legendary Harley drag racer, Ray Price, and Ray Price Harley-Davidson, which is bringing top international entertainment to Raleigh one week before the AHDRA races at Rockingham Dragway, The Rock, in the Sandhills, this could become a legitimate weeklong North Carolina rally that you won’t want to miss!
Kudos, Ray!
Currently, it is only billed as a two day event, and is not expected to be nearly as popular as Myrtle Beach Bike Week in neighboring South Carolina, which does not have a mandatory helmet law. MBBW started with only a handful of bikers, so this is a terrific start!
There are 3 obstacles preventing this from becoming a full blown rally: 1.) mandatory helmet laws, 2.) lack of events between the two weekends, and 3.) it is hurricane season.
All three can be dealt with.
1.) In terms of hurricane season, the National Hurricane Center at NOAA has been doing splendid forecasting. (We could have events that raise funds for Hurricane Katrina evacuees!)
2.) There are lots of motorcycle clubs and biker friendly places and custom shops that can put together plenty of great events to keep you riding and rocking! Heck yeah! Come on down and let’s ride!
3.) The only remaining obstacle is the mandatory helmet law. I suggest we might enlist the help of bikers from far away to join with bikers from North Carolina in circling the legislative building!! This would be a massive protest that if you want this many bikers to tour NC rather than avoid it, let those who ride decide. For many years, NC bikers have constantly urged the NC legislators to repeal mandatory helmet laws, citing safety reasons and loss of tourism revenue, so come on down and ride, unless you are afraid to wear a helmet (I know of some folks who are deathly afraid of helmets after doing extensive research) - the decision should be yours to make, but it isn’t...yet.
In the end, whether or not the Ray Price Capital City Bikefest will kickstart a full blown rally, supported by the many motorcycle related businesses to ensure a great time the entire week, and ending off with exciting drag races at The Rock will all come down to biker-friendly places from Raleigh to Fayetteville to Rockingham putting together a huge welcome, and bikers deciding if they want to rally here.
Thanks again to the legendary Harley drag racer Ray Price and his H-D dealership!
IF SO, QUESTION: WILL THE RALLY ALWAYS END ON THE SECOND WEEKEND IN OCTOBER? That kind of scheduling is what really turns an event into an annual rally.
Note: According to Steve Earwood, next years AHDRA at The Rock is October 14th and 15th, 2006. | 
