WILDWOOD – Roar to the Shore Motorcycle Rally was canceled by the City of Wildwood after 23 years, according to an announcement on Roar to the Shore’s Facebook page July 17 (https://bit.ly/2WwH3sP).
“What started out as a really cool event has morphed into something that was really intimidating to the average weekend rider, as well as the community. Who likes to see SWAT teams up on motels? Things such as that. It didn’t start out that way,” Wildwood Mayor Peter Byron said, adding the decision was made months ago.
The rally, at times, drew thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts to Wildwood for a September weekend, making their presence known, as the sounds of their bikes reverberated throughout the city.
According to Roar to the Shore’s Facebook post, the city determined that the rally “no longer fits the image of the city and has chosen to deny all permits necessary to host [the] event.”
“There was a lot of concern among the business people that it was going in a direction that it wasn’t originally intended for. There was concern about the health and safety of residents, so we just decided not to go in that direction,” said Byron.
The rally debuted in 1996.
