Outer Banks H-D Bikefest

from November 2020 - Issue #268

by The Carolinas' Full Throttle Magazine

Hundreds of Bikers Pack The Hide-A-Way Tavern To Back The Blue

By LincoLn infieLd

orth Carolina’s outer Banks are an aBsolute

jewel that features miles and miles of beautiful coastline, scenic riding, and historic landmarks. The Wright Brothers took the first flight in Kill Devil Hills, Jockey’s Ridge State Park features the tallest living sand dune on the Atlantic coast, and top to bottom the OBX feature seven fantastic light houses. To top all that off, Outer Banks Harley-Davidson in Harbinger, NC throws two bike rallies each year. Outer Banks Bike Week in April and Outer Banks Bikefest in September.

This year, Outer Banks Harley-Davidson was forced to cancel their spring Bike Week and all we had to look forward to was the Fall Bikefest. I snagged a hotel room and put the boss on notice that I wasn’t gonna miss this event. I only had time to get down there for the last weekend of the event, but they had a list of events and riding that were well worth attending. As 2020 would have it, the crew at Outer Banks HarleyDavidson learned days before the event that they were going to be limited on what they were allowed to do on site. Some of the big entertainment was moved to OBX H-D’s sister store in Portsmouth, VA, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t have a big time at the beach. I rolled into town on Friday and stopped off

at the dealership. They had a group of vendors on the lot of your normal biker type stuff: silver jewelry, leather goods and naturally a side show act. I hung out with the new GM, and the marketing guru, Dusty, and some riders at the dealership and then hit some of the local watering holes. The Outer Banks Bikefest has a great community effort built in and a lot of the local biker hangouts get in on the fun. It wasn’t hard to find the night life, just file in with any pack of bikes heading down the road. That evening, Longboards was the stop for food, drinks, vendors and more biker type fun.

Saturday morning the sun came up and all though there was a chance of rain (isn’t there always?) I knew it was gonna be a good day to ride. I started off back at Outer Banks Harley-Davidson in Harbinger, where they were already slinging bikes, jamming music and setting up for a big day. I was definitely interested in cruising the coast a bit and I was in luck since there was a scavenger hunt that had a few stops that included the OBX Harley-Davidson’s satellite stores in Kitty Hawk and Nags Head. Hey, I was heading that way anyway! Continued On Page 32

Continued From Page 30

One of the cool features of the Outer Banks are the bridges that connect the mainland to the islands and the islands to each other. I thoroughly enjoyed cruising those bridges and checking out the waterways. The first bridge was from the mainland over to Kitty Hawk crossing the Currituck Sound. I was heading south to Nags Head Harley-Davidson, so I had to hit Hwy 12 and you pass right by the Wright Brothers National Memorial. Well, that was detour number one. It’s a must see, even if you’ve been there before. There’s plenty to see just touring the monument and the 4 markers that chronicle the first successful airplane flights. There’s also a museum on the grounds, but it wasn’t open at the time. Back out on Hwy 12, I resumed my ride down to Nags Head Harley-Davidson that happens to be just past Jockey’s Ridge State Park. Welcome to detour number 2. I was absolutely blown away by the astounding beauty of these huge sand dunes. It’s just sand, but it’s so much more. I trekked all over those beautiful dunes in my boots and enjoyed the view of both the sound and the ocean from the peaks of the dunes.

I was only few gears away from Nags Head Harley-Davidson when I resumed my ride. I stopped in and that place was hoppin. They had a tent out front with this year’s rally shirts and packs of bikes were coming and going. Nags Head GM, Becci, and MotorClothes associate, Pam, were more than welcoming and were making sure that everyone got the cool merch that they needed. Now that I was that far south, I figured I would hit up Roanoke Island, home to the lost colony and the birthplace of the first American born English settler, Virginia Dare. It was this, detour number 3 that got me caught in 100% of the 20% chance of rain that was forecasted for the day. But hey, sooner or later ya gonna get wet if you’re riding at the beach. It also took me across another long bridge that spans the Roanoke Sound. There’s something about these bridges, it’s a pretty incredible feeling riding them. I hung around for a while then headed back north to see what was going on back

at the main dealership in Harbinger. I got up there in time to grab a hot dog lunch that the HOG Club was cooking up and watch the parade of bikes and people coming and going at the dealership. I stuck around the dealership for a few hours and the sun had me all dried back out before I put the kickstand up and headed back to my hotel. I never finished the scavenger hunt, but I found a full day of riding and fun.

I’m definitely looking forward to next spring and the Outer Banks Bike Week and the return of the big events. Even with the restrictions, the Outer Banks Harley-Davidson locations, team and community still put on a heck of a good rally. I had a blast in the short time I was able to spend at the Outer Banks Bikefest. It’s a beautiful area to visit, with great riding, history and a great riding community, so when they announce the 2021 dates in the Cruisin’ Calendar, snag a hotel room and plan on having a good time.