Black Bike Week

Black Bike Week, also called Atlantic Beach Bikefest and Black Bikers Week, is an annual motorcycle rally in the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area, held on Memorial Day weekend. It is also sometimes called Black Fill-in-the-Blank Week, because it has evolved to attract many non-motorcycling visitors who come for music, socializing and enjoying the beach. Events include motorcycle racing, concerts, parties, and street festivals. Called a "one-of-a-kind event" and "an exhibitionist's paradise" by Jeffrey Gettleman, Black Bike Week is "all about riding, styling and profiling," in the words of Mayor Irene Armstrong of Atlantic Beach, South Carolina.

It is the largest African American motorcycle rally in the US. Attendance has been variously reported as 350,000, 375,000, and as high as 400,000. It is considered the third or fourth largest motorcycle rally in the United States. Around 10–15 percent of motorcyclists in the US are women, while at major African American motorcycle rallies, such as Black Bike Week or the National Bikers Roundup, women make up close to half of participants.

Bike Week

Bike Week may refer to:

Bike Week (Bicycle Week)

Bike Week is a yearly international event that originated in Europe. It is typically a seven-day event that advocates bicycling for transportation. The event has been steadily gaining popularity in North American cities over the past decade. Bike Week takes place during the second week of May or June and is typically an entire week of city-wide cycling supplemented with events. The central aim of the event is to give citizens of a city the opportunity to help the environment and exercise in a fun and social way. Participants include professional cyclists, celebrities and individuals who choose cycling as a chief means of transportation for the week.

History

Introduced in the 19th century, the bicycle has a host of innovators and inventors. Though specifics of its origin may be hazy, the concept of bicycling as a mode of transportation surely originated in Europe. In 1923, the first preliminary Bike Week was held in the UK and a tradition was born. The annual event is nearly a century old and is religiously observed in Europe and more recently in North America. While the dates of a respective city's Bike Week may differ, conceptually, the event remains the same. Celebrities that have taken part in the past include Fearne Cotton, Fern Britton, James Cracknell, Jean-Christophe Novelli, Jon Snow, Josie Dew, Olivia Williams and Wayne Hemingway.