Thousands of bikers are roaring into Memphis this week. Here's why.
Memphis, that rumble you may hear this week is caused by motorcycles.
Thousands of motorcycles.
Tens of thousands of motorcycles.
"We are possibly expecting anywhere from fifty- to a hundred-thousand people showing up," said LaSondra Tremble, 49, who rides under the name "Mz. Prissy" and whose bike of choice is a 2020 Indian Challenger.
"We expect 30,000 people," said Kevin Kane, president of Memphis Tourism, who prefers vehicles with four wheels.
Whatever the head count, bikers by the thousands will roar into the former Fairgrounds area of Liberty Park this week for what Tremble calls "one of the biggest motorcycle rallies in the country," the 46th annual National Bikers Roundup, hosted locally by the Memphis Tennessee Roundup Committee.
"Believe me, you will hear motorcycles throughout the whole city," said Kane, who said the rally — making its first visit to Memphis — will have an economic impact in the "millions."
Although bikers of every demographic are welcome at the national roundup, the event is essentially a celebration of the very active if relatively unsung Black biking community, which emerged at a time when segregation was the norm. A grassroots phenomenon, the first Roundup of a few dozen bikers was held in Kansas City, Missouri, while last year's rally was in Gonzales, Louisiana.
Memphis-area Black motorcycle clubs expected to participate in this year's rally include the Buffalo Soldiers, the Samurai Riders, the CJ Riders, the Godsons, the Street Hawks, the Wyld Boyz, Badville, and Pound for Pound. Despite, the glamorous, intimidating names, "it's all about family-friendly fellowship," Tremble said.
"It's not anything on the bad side," she added, to reassure those who confuse motorcycle clubs with the motorcycle gangs that terrorized towns in such drive-in chopper shockers as "The Wild One" with Marlon Brando and "The Wild Angels" with Peter Fonda.
"People get scared when they hear the words 'thousands of motorcycles,' but believe me, they're a great group," said Kane, familiar with some of the clubs from past, smaller biker conventions in Memphis and North Mississippi. "I wish we had them every year."
The National Bikers Roundup runs from Tuesday through Sunday at Liberty Park. Most of the participants will be based in the park, sleeping in RVs, campers and tents. Twenty food vendors will be on site, and concerts showcasing musicians with what Tremble called "that Memphis flair" will be presented in the buildings in the park area. "They're using every piece of concrete over there," Kane said.
Nevertheless, the bikers have booked 20,000 room nights for the week in area hotels, according to Memphis Tourism. Many of them will eat at restaurants, shop and visit Memphis attractions. They should have spending money, because admission to the rally is relatively inexpensive: $30 per person for the week, and $100 per RV.
Tremble said she has been riding about 18 years, often in the company of her husband, Barry Tremble, a Buffalo Soldier club member who rides under the name "Seven."
"The joy of riding is just the joy of going from state to state, city to city, meeting new people in new clubs," she said. "It's not like the movies."
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: National Bikers Roundup 2023 in Memphis: What to know about the event
