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, jointly organized the Bike & Beach Bash, which was held at the old Aaron Bessant Park, the site of what is now the Pier Park development. 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 rally, 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 weather 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 first Thunder Beach Autumn Rally was held in September, 2001 on the grounds of an NHRA 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 rally. 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 ever.

The Spinnaker Beach Club came on board for Panama City Bike Week for the Autumn Rally in 2002 as the second Thunder Beach venue. This was a bit of a challenge initially because the Autumn Rally was somewhat smaller and bikers weren't used to riding between venues. That situation fixed itself during the Spring 2003 rally, with a larger crowd that was a little more used to the format of riding to and from venues.

In the Autumn of 2003, the Boardwalk Beach Resort became the third Thunder Beach venue adding a whole new dimension to the rally. This "Bikes Only" venue jumped right in to the swing of things with its outdoor beach Party Pavilion and the Blue Moose Café. During the Spring Rally of 2004, the Boardwalk broke more new ground when their Convention Center was brought into the mix. The first two national manufacturers to attend Thunder Beach, Samson Exhaust and Boss Hoss Motorcycles, set up their Big Rigs in the Convention Center, with Boss Hoss giving demo rides outside.

By the Spring of 2005, Thunder Beach was getting a greater degree of attention from the national parts and bike manufacturers. To accommodate them, the City of Panama City Beach agreed to let Thunder Beach Productions use their two parking lots at Pier Park to introduce the"Manufacturers and Bike Builders Village" during the 2005 Spring Rally. In attendance, besides Samson and Boss Hoss, were other industry leaders like Drag Specialties, Kuryakyn, Desperado, Iron Horse, Big Dog, Redneck Engineering and Don Grey Customs.

For the Spring 2007 Rally, after four successful events at Pier Park, the City of PCB requested that TBP move the majority of our Pier Park vendors to the Frank Brown Park Special Events Facility. The City's request was due primarily to congestion caused by construction in Pier Park. The addition of this massive new facility was an immediate success and will allow 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.

The Thunder Beach Motorcycle Rallies have come a long way these past few years on virtually every level. The future, to be sure, is even brighter:

1. As the up-scale development at Pier Park continues, Thunder Beach has had a significant presence there. Simon Property Group, the nation's premier developer of entertainment, dining and retail shopping space, has built an open-air extravaganza second to none. Now that Pier Park has officially opened, Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville is just one of the entertainment and dining anchors. Others are: Ron Jon Surf Shop, American Eagle Outfitters, Bootleg Barbeque, Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, Hofbrau Beer Garden, Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar and Five Guy's Famous Burgers & Fries. Simon's expressed desire to incorporate Thunder Beach into the Pier Park mix, during the rally, is very exciting.
2. A brand new, state of the art, Harley Davidson Dealership will, hopefully, soon break ground on U.S. 98 near Pier Park. This is also exciting news. TBP looks forward to a great working relationship with the new dealer and the endless possibilities that the future holds.

Much of the current phase of construction along Front Beach Road, both condos and roadway upgrades, has been completed, making riding easier and safer, as well as providing an abundance of new rooms for riders coming to Thunder Beach.

Thunder Beach has come a long way in just a few short years. Anyone who has witnessed it first hand knows this is true. You can be sure, however, that this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The future of Thunder Beach and Panama City Beach Bike Week is very bright indeed!!!