This past weekend Sandy and I headed down to Salisbury, NC for the Horse’s Smoke Out.
I have been wanting to get down there for this event for the past few years but it just didn’t work out. This year things kind of fell into place and we were able to plan to go. I had heard a lot about the Smoke Out and was looking forward to an old school biker party and motorcycle show, and that is what we got.
We got up early Saturday morning and headed out. Stopping in Emporia, VA at Shoney’s for some breakfast and then blasting down the road towards Salisbury. The ride was good, a few times we ran in and out of a few misting showers, but the overcast skys were actually welcome since it kept the temperatures down. We passed (and got passed by) several groups of bikes headed down that way, and more than a few trailers. We arrived at the fairgrounds right around 1.
Once there they have a staging area where you park to get your tickets before you enter the fairgrounds and there is where I saw it, the sign that ensured me that this was going to be a good day - NO ONE UNDER 18 ALLOWED! That’s what I am talking about, you hear so much about a lot of these rallys and get togethers (even some of the major rallys) becoming “family” events. If you want a family event go to a mini-van show.
Once we had ourselves squared away with the tickets we entered the fairgrounds to a sea of motorcycles. Yeah there were a lot of just ordinary bikes, stock bikes, and factory custom bikes but the number of home built, home customized machines was amazing and some of the stuff these guys did to them - it was just unbelivable.
There was also a good bit of other activities going on. A topless bike wash, a t-shirts contest (t-shirts optional), dirt drags, the Ice Cream Man from Hell was there with his sex pool (no shoes in pool - clothing optional), a home built chopper show, the Horse’s chop off, and ton’s of vendors and custom builders displaying their creations - Choppers, Inc, Sucker Punch Sally, Fab Kevin, Chopper Dave, Indian Larry Legacy, Chopperhead Road, Led Sled, Power Factory, Departure Bike Works, and a bunch of others.
We hung out at the fairgrounds till around 5 and then the heat pretty much got the best of us. We decided to head out and try to find a place to stay for the night and get a good meal. We ended up staying in a Comfort Suites in Lexington, NC only about 15 miles up the road. It was a nice place with a pool and a good REAL breakfast. Lots of other bikers staying there too. Went to Applebees for a bite to eat and then by 8 we were pretty much done for the night - with the ride down and the heat of the day - it just did us in.
I had my camera with me but I only took a few pictures. Reckon I was just try to digest everything that was going on and just having a good time that I did not think to actually take a lot of pictures. Oh well, probably next year, and I will make it a point to get back there next year. I do like the larger rallies, like Biketoberfest, but this one was different in a very good way. It was a hard day and next year we will make it a point to get up there the day before, instead of trying to pack the ride and the rally all into the same day. Think we will probably enjoy it a bit more that way.
Check out the Gallery for the few pictures that I took.
If you have some pics from the Smoke Out VII upload them and share them with the rest of us.
Take Care - Ride FREE
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