The Thunder Beach Motorcycle Rallies are an amazing work in progress. The first rally in 1999, called the "Bike & Beach Bash", was born out of an annual gathering of riders from the Macon, Georgia HOG chapter. As the years went by, the group, who always stayed and congregated at the Sandpiper Beacon Beach Resort, grew larger and larger.
In the Spring of 1999, the Macon HOG chapter, along with Garry Hundley of the Sandpiper Beacon, and Rick James of Beach Hawg, jointly organized the Bike & Beach Bash, which was held at the old Aaron Bessant Park, the site of what is now Pier Park. While the first crowd was not large, it was enthusiastic and well behaved. It also caught the eye of the Bay County Tourist Development Council. The "TDC" saw from the beginning the potential economic viability of a motorcycle event held on Panama City Beach, and how it could positively benefit the local economy.
After the '99 rally, the TDC became directly involved with the Rally. They hired event promoters and began planning the 2000 event, now renamed "Thunder Beach". Although the 2000 rally captured a larger audience (roughly 2,500 attendees, many of whom were local), it proved to be an operational nightmare. Even so, the promoters at the time made the ill-advised decision to change the length of the 2001 rally from 3 days to a full bike week, 9 very long days.
Joe Biggs became involved with the original promoters as an investor and business advisor after the 2000 rally. In late March of 2001, about one month before the start of the 2001 event, Biggs gained sole ownership of the rally and immediately founded Thunder Beach Productions, Inc. (TBP). While it was clear that a full bike week was too long, at this stage in the rally's history, the decision was made to honor the existing contracts with sponsors and vendors and endure the full-week storm. For Biggs and most of the vendors, the 2001 rally seemed more like a year than a week.
To try something new, the 1st Annual Thunder Beach “Autumn” Rally was held in September, 2001 on the grounds of an NHRA sanctioned drag strip north of Panama City. Although the event was entertaining, with Pro Harley Dragsters and an overall racing format, the 9/11 disaster had occurred just two weeks earlier and the crowd was very sparse.
After two difficult rallies in 2001, Biggs decided to completely change the design of the Rally.
Starting in the Spring of 2002, Thunder Beach was reorganized as a free, sponsor-driven event. The Shoppes at Edgewater would be the first venue used in the rebirth of Thunder Beach. It was immediately clear that this was the right decision because "the baby came out kickin' and screamin'". The crowd at that first rally at Edgewater was the biggest and most enthusiastic to date.
By the Spring of 2005, Thunder Beach was gaining a greater degree of vendor participation from several national motorcycle and parts manufacturers. To accommodate them, the City of Panama City Beach agreed to let Thunder Beach Productions use their two parking lots at what would soon be Pier Park to introduce the "Manufacturers and Bike Builders Village" during the 2005 Spring Rally. In attendance were industry leaders like Drag Specialties, Kuryakyn, Samson Exhaust, Boss Hoss Cycles, Desperado Customs, Big Dog Cycles, Redneck Engineering, American Iron Horse and Titan Cycles.
For the Spring 2007 Rally, after four successful events at Pier Park, the City of PCB requested that TBP move our Pier Park vendors to the Frank Brown Park Special Events Facility. The City's request was prompted by the extreme congestion caused by heavy construction in Pier Park. The addition of this massive new facility was an immediate success and has allowed Thunder Beach to grow in ways that would not have been possible in the past because of limited space. Frank Brown Park is conveniently located directly across U.S. Highway 98 from Pier Park.
In recent years Thunder Beach has added new Official Venues at Club La Vela, Pineapple Willy’s and Sharkey’s. Club La Vela, during the Rally, has become home to some of the biggest names in the motorcycle world; Kuryakyn, Drag Specialties, Klock Werks, Cycle Solutions and many more. Pineapple Willy’s and its beautiful new Pier Bar has become one of the most dynamic hangouts to our rally-goers. Like Willy’s, Sharky’s is a longtime favorite with riders and locals alike. Also, for the past three years, Pier Park has become the home of the US Rider News “Best of Thunder Beach Custom Bike Show”. Pier Park also hosts the manufacturer demo rides.
Thunder Beach has come a long way in just a few short years. You can be sure, however, that this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. As the Rally grows, we will add new venues, each bringing something different to the event. The future of the Thunder Beach Motorcycle Rallies is very bright indeed!!! Stay tuned….
