Motorcycle riders attending the 8th Annual Outer Banks Bike Week™ found themselves cruising the same stretch of beach that some of the most famous pirates patrolled nearly 300 years ago.
The Atlantic Coast off the coast of the Outer Banks was where Blackbeard, the most famous pirate in American history, made his fortune and fame, plundering vessels in the area known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic for its thousands of shipwrecks.
Exploring towns like Nags Head, named for its land pirates who lured ships to their doom by tying lanterns around old horses necks, or Kill Devil Hills with its colorful past as a place where rum washed ashore so strong it would slay the devil, provided bikers with plenty to sink their teeth into.
The great food and fun watering holes each with their own character and flavor were only one of the many attractions that lured Bike Week riders to the Outer Banks.
Cool ocean breezes, amazing scenic riding and a full week of non-stop entertainment added up to make Outer Banks Bike Week™ one of the best spring riding rallies on the East Coast.
The towns work very hard keeping major developers at bay from overrunning the fragile ecosystem and the original feel and history of the Outer Banks which has been home to local fishermen for centuries.
With four coastal lighthouses, including the tallest one in the United States the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the Wright Brothers Memorial, the long history of pirates, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, wild Spanish Mustang horses on the beach, 100 miles of beaches and great fishing they have much to protect.
The springtime weather after a long winter made this riding rally a perfect getaway. And 2010 marked the first year Bike Week ran for eight days. Thursday had been the traditional kickoff day in prior years. This gave the bikers more time to get in the longer guided tours, extended rally activities and the area attractions.
Bikers gathered in large numbers at Outer Banks Harley-Davidson and Nags Head Harley-Davidson and at four other popular vendor locations.
Outer Banks Harley-Davidson’s showroom is dedicated to the year 1903 which is the year of the Wright Brother’s first flight and the first edition of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
In addition life-like renditions of pirates are around every corner at both of the local Harley® shops, Outer Banks Harley-Davidson on the mainland in Currituck County and Nags Head Harley-Davidson which is 13 miles south of the Wright Memorial Bridge.
The Harley-Davidson Demo Fleet from Milwaukee was on hand at Nags Head Harley-Davidson and close to 300 riders took advantage of test riding various Harley models. The Official Bike Show and the Poker Run also took place at Nags Head Harley-Davidson.
Some of the Outer Banks Bike Week™ traditions remained and some new twists were added.
At the main stage at Outer Banks Harley-Davidson there was live music all week including Outer Banks Bike Week™ favorites Ted Riser, South Phantom, Awaiting the Sun and the Cory Daniels Bands. The Miss Outer Banks Bike Week™ Bikini Contest, tattoo contest, best beer belly contest and vendors from all over the country also kept the crowd busy.
Over at Vertigo Tattoo in Mann’s Harbor, bikers staged burnouts for prizes and competed in various bike shows.
More guided tours and riding contests were added this year including “Run 4 the Ferry” which took riders 80 miles south along Route 12 past Pea Island through the local towns of Rodanthe, Waves, Frisno, Buxton and finally Hatteras to catch the ferry over to Ocracoke Island and the Lighthouse.
Kyle Jernigan from Saint Leonard MD made all nine required stops over the course of the week for the Run 4 the Ferry contest and was the lucky winner of a vacation house for OBX Bike Week 2011 donated by Elan Vacations and over $150 dollars in local restaurant gift certificates.
Chuck Marshall won the “Ride 2 Three Contest” and a $1000 shopping spree. He had to visit the 3 dealerships in the area to enter. He came in with his wife and a few friends and they shared the shopping spree. The total bill came to $1000.01!
Live music was everywhere this year. From a waterfront sunset concert and pig pickin on Wednesday night at Real Watersports/Mojo’s Café in Waves, to 5 different bands at the Outer Banks H-D stage and various bands at all the vendor sites and party hosts spots.
Captain Pamlico Jack the scoundrel that is usually looking for booty at Kelly’s Restaurant found some real gold while emceeing the Miss Outer Banks Bike Week Bikini Contest. We all enjoyed his bad pirate jokes and he had a grand time bantering with the contestants. Miss Brittany Musick was hands down the winner of the first place $500 cash prize and will be featured as on our Outer Banks Bike Week™ 2011 ads and posters. Congrats Brittany!
Lucky 12 Tavern a year long biker friendly establishment was packed for 10 days straight as was Kelly’s Restaurant, Port O’Call Restaurant, Outer Banks Brewing Station, Long Boards Island Grill, New York Pizza Pub, and Jolly Roger just to name a few. Riders had to make choices all week long between great party spots each with a completely different groove.
The very first Outer Banks Bike Week™ Women’s Bike Show held on Thursday at the Outer Banks H-D location was a huge hit which will definitely be a Bike Week tradition. We had 20 entries and the judging was extremely close. But the women really enjoyed their time in the sun and I know it will be even bigger next year. The winners were: Margaret Foulke with a 2005 Custom Pro Street painted to reflect her love of horses, Sheryl Wise with a 105th Anniversary 2008 Fatboy and Kelly Forsythe with a 2001 Harley Deuce.
Here are a couple of posts to Facebook: “Great times…glad I could attend”, “We had a blast! Can’t wait for next year!”, “Had a great time, making this the 8th year straight”.
9th Annual Outer Banks Bike Week™ April 16-25, 2011- 10 DAYS!! See ya next year!
The picture perfect weather and the long list of event activities also had a hand in ratcheting up the number of bikers this year to what has been estimated at close to 20,000. That is more than last year when “the Banks” hosted two motorcycle rallies at the same time.
The “Treasure Hunt”, a new event for the rally and sponsored by the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, had bikers on the road looking for clues at different local “treasure” spots throughout the Outer Banks. “How did Jockey’s Ridge get its name?” is a question which gave riders a chance to visit the East Coast’s tallest natural sand dune where the Wright Brothers first took flight. (Answer: Early inhabitants captured wild mustang ponies and raced them at the base of the dune.)
The “Treasure Hunt” Grand Prize won by William Cobbs of Portsmouth, VA was a free vacation in the Outer Banks for next year’s bike week which included a beach house for the entire week from Élan Vacations and restaurant gift certificates from NY Pizza Pub, Kelly’s, The Pearl, Lucky 12 Tavern, The Black Pelican and Awful Arthur’s.
The Bike Show was hosted at Nags Head Harley-Davidson by the Red Knights of NC Chapter IV. There were a record number of entries this year but the top award, Best in Show, went to a father whose Military Tribute Road King was a dedication to his son who was killed in the war in Iraq.
Cool gear abounded at the vendor sites at Port O’Call, NY Pizza Pub, Kitty Hawk Baptist Church, Stan White Realty, Kitty Hawk Harley-Davidson, Nags Head Harley-Davidson and Outer Banks Harley-Davidson.
The Harley-Davidson® Demo Fleet, poker run and night time party host spots Port O’Call, Kelly’s, and Outer Banks Brewing Station all gave bikers a ton of choices throughout the week.
