The fourth Horse Smoke Out was near, we had some cool ol' skool chops recently finished that we planned on riding from Jacksonville, Florida to Salisbury North Carolina (home of the Smoke Out). We started calling friends and sending messages thru the Horse board for the big pow-wow in the North. The plan for the ride was cemented as time passed, too quick, I should add. The timing was not right for us, it was way too close to our Sturgis shipping dates for comfort, it was decided that two trucks and two trailers would be used. As we all have become adults (without asking to) duties took over pleasure, so most of my partners in crime bailed out. At the last minute all plans went to hell, so I called up Choppers Inc. (since my chop is still there) and decided to ride up with them. Alas, I call for the ticket and Charlotte was a few dollars more than Orlando, so Charlotte it was. (let's not even talk about the flu that caught me a week before the! event). So Jose was cagin' to the Smoke Out, fuck, at least I was there.

And wise choice it was. The two days were filled with cool home made choppers, old and new friends, famous and little known people and a lot of chaos and mayhem. Sure there was a few of our " industry " friends who some people call celebrities, but of the 7,000 or more people (estimated) there, most were magazine readers and had built their chops with their hands, by sweat and busted knuckles, not bank accounts and Gold cards. Really cool bikes that you could actually notice the "home" ideas incorporated into them, the meat cleaver tag bracket, the flashlight as headlight and stuff like such. It's a place were rattle can paint jobs are king, and starters as scarce as hookers in a convent. Then again, if you showed up on a bagger it was as cool and you were more than welcome to take part of the frolicking and cavorting.

One really neat thing I've noticed in the Smoke Out is the constant growth, yes there are some anal individuals that frown upon this, but growth is good, so let's get the straight facts. Number three doubled number two and number four was 4 times better in attendance, that means a lot, and it's great for the magazine, staff and readers. Meanwhile keeping it all cool and collected, no attitudes, no egos, and no bullshit.

Bikes from all over the US were there, even guys from California made the six day trip, that is being a real loyal reader, and as I have mentioned before, bikes that are mostly home built, stuff that the regular Twinkie rider would frown upon, much less cross 3 or 4 states. By the way, one of the coolest ever Twinkies I've seen was there, but it disappeared into the crowds before I could fetch my camera. Such is the event, impromptu entertainment would appear out of nowhere, dirt track racing, tire blowing burn outs, and maybe one or two chicks running bare breasted down the road. Indian Larry popping wheelies on his Discovery rat fink bike, Hank Young in a very cool rod truck, topless bull riding, bike wash (for the dirt track participants who fuckin' needed it) even just hanging out at the hotel parking lot, what we called Asphalt 127 bar, it was all good.

It's always a lot of fun hanging out with friends, they can be called Billy Lane or Chicago Greaser, it makes no difference, we are all the same when it comes to this kind of event. It’s something really cool to be able to shoot the shit with everyone on the same level, builders, vendors, attendees and staff and maybe have a beer and pizza while checking each other rides and the hot chicks passing by. There’s no rush, no events that you must attend, no press unveilings, nothing out of the ordinary or that everyone can't attend, everyone is welcome everywhere.

Don't get me wrong, it's not paradise either. There’s always assholes and there's always someone with something stuck up their asses, but in the Smoke Out's case, this is very minimal, so minimal that those I'm referring to will know who they are when reading this. Amazing as it was, everyone asked how my flu was going and if I felt better, like that is going to happen in Daytona......

The vendor area also grew a lot and most were pretty happy if not super happy with the turnout and feedback they got. Needless to say there were really cool things for sale. Things that have no market in any rally but are gold in this one and at more than reasonable prices. I wish I had a place to put and take with me all the neat stuff I saw. From peanut tanks to jockey shifters, to engraved mag lites and point covers, frames, shirts and knives. Some guys even offered a few mocks of known lines (shame on the copycats) with the name in different logos; I guess inventive goes down the drain when scruples live next to the gutter. A lot of our friends with small shops were there as well, as you notice I'm not mentioning any names, but just wait 'till the end, it will happen....

All in all we had a great time. I'm more than glad to have been able to show up, bike or not, time or not. The quality and quantity of friends makes this event a very cool one indeed, sure we missed some people, but you gotta do what you gotta do. My only gripe is that although a lot of hot chicks, most were called for; I guess we gotta work harder at bringing singles for following events. Just so you guys know, good things can always be better, I guess we will all work towards that goal for next year, but it's always a steep learning curve.

I'm gonna try to relate all that went on in as few words as possible, let's see. Billy Lane, Indian Larry, burn outs, burn outs, burn outs, dirt racing, hill climbing, rock and roll, bull riding, topless bull riding, naked bull riding, Fab Kevin's, Irish Rich, CJ engraving, wheelies, cool chops, chopper contest, photos, photos, vendors, Choppahead, people, camping, Billy Velvet's band, T Bear, Crazy Horse, Killer Choppers, Hank Young, Gasoline Alley, Gangster Choppers, redneck engineering, longest bike in the world, mini bike racing, Miss Iron maiden contest, beer, beer, beer, John Towle, rides from every place in the nation, hotel lot hangout, The Horse staff, our friends from Asphalt 127, Indiana, Chicago, Lauderdale, Florida, Mike Pullin and Meanest, Voodoo Choppers, hot chicks, hot chicks wet t-shirts, hot chicks no t-shirts, Shade Tree racing, Ed Martin, Ice Cream man from hell, Goth Girl, mayhem, chaos, camping craziness, and so many other things that I don't have memory, time, nor space to mention.

Did you notice that I did not say fighting nor accidents, even the cops were fuckin' cool.

This event is about a bond that can’t be broken and that is friendship. Friends can always have a good time and look forward to the next time.

This is an open invitation, come and join us next year, but please check the attitude and arrogance at the counter...

Jose