It was that time of year again, time for the SmokeOut to hit Rockingham, North Carolina. This is one event I always look forward to and mark on my calendar months in advance. It never gets old or tired because you never know what or who you will see.
This year I went alone, my wife and photographer was recovering from a battle with pneumonia, so I had to take the pictures and they are probably not as good as hers.
I headed out bright and early Saturday morning, well it was not that bright The skies were dark and it looked as if they were going to open up any minute. I was determined! The rain would not stop me from reaching the SmokeOut. I arrived in Rockingham about an hour later and never got wet!
I made my way through the admission gates and proceeded to check out the bikes, people and vendors.
This is the place to be if you are a bobber and chopper fan. Bare bones, no nonsense bikes, kick start only bikes, rigid frames, flames, chains, jockey shifts, no front brakes, spool front wheels. The kind of bikes us older guys grew up with.
By the way, I never ran into THE BIG GUY aka Bandit until late in the afternoon. I was checking out a bike and I heard this gruff voice, “Hey Mr. Pullin, Ghaaaad Dammit get your ass over here,” I knew the work was about to begin. Bandit was relaxed in a chair under a shade tree having the “Painted Ladies” bring him his Jack Daniels on demand. Yeah, the painted ladies were everywhere this year, it has become a big attraction for the Smoke Out. Speaking of big attractions, THE WALL OF DEATH was set up at the Smoke-Out this year. It is amazing to see Rhett Rotten ride around the Wall of Death.
As always a BIG thank you goes out to Edge and his crew at THE HORSE magazine for in my opinion the BEST motorcycle event going. As always I am looking forward to next year!
Until next time, RIDE!
STEALTH
