Opinions flip on city's role

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Back when John Rhodes was first a candidate for Myrtle Beach mayor, he met with biker groups to ask for their support.

He assured them there would always be rallies in Myrtle Beach as long as he was mayor and as long as they could encourage their fellow riders to respect the city and its residents.

In 2008, as mayor, Rhodes reversed that stance when the May rallies kept getting bigger and louder.

"They tried," Rhodes said of the members of ABATE and Rolling Thunder. "They put out maps of the city to show people where the residential areas were to avoid, they put out signs encouraging people to ride respectfully, but it just didn't happen."

But Rhodes, a candidate again this year, isn't the only one who has changed his mind about the rallies.

Mark McBride, mayor for eight years before Rhodes defeated him in 2005, is running again this year, and one of his campaign planks is a five-day, city-sponsored motorcycle rally.

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Speed