***********Please be aware that some of the photos are "R" rated**********
If you are offended by bare breasts, exit the page now!

(below: the view on Friday evening before the event is in full swing)
Photos copyright Dawn Schmidt Ventimiglia, Ben Dare, and Frank Chambers

Things I want to remember about this trip: Crossing paths with Glen in Stokesdale on the way to the Smokeout - that was quite serendipitous; the wonderful ride on 158 through the countryside; I dislike cross-town expressways when some jerk gets right on my ass as I need to take an exit; I don't enjoy bouncing through rough fields on my bike (the T isn't exactly a dirt bike) - especially when I find the biggest hole to ride through! I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation with the around-the-world rider of the old Indian, especially his breakdown in Russia story.  I kept thinking I heard Bella's tags jingling at the hotel - we missed our pup. Enjoyed meeting Keino (the dog from Carolina Cruisers at his booth was dressed in booties, goggles and biker attire), watching roller derby girls, drooling over the chopped trucks, getting an Instant Karma beer for taking group photos with multiple cameras, "run, Forrest, run", having some guy walk up and ask me if I bought the white fringed chaps I had tried on (he said I should have, cuzI looked great in them), hanging with friends, making new friends, late night burnouts at the hotel by a topless chick, and seeing the coolest homebuilt bobbers and choppers you can imagine. The beautiful ride home. Coming home to a very happy dog!
News alert! Here's a June 22, 2008, article from the Winston-Salem Journal saying that folks don't want to allow the event ever again in their neighborhood! Please comment on the article at that link, and show your support for the SmokeOut!   Cells with video are marked in orange!	Let's hit the road! (photos by Ben Dare)	John and I leave Danville Friday morning, and ride 29 to 158, then to Bus.40 thru Winston-Salem. I detest in-town Interstate riding! Some butthead was about 3 feet off my rear at 70 mph as I had to scoot over to make our exit. Thank God the Tourer's got some torque!	Our friend, Glen, from Vegas, had stayed at our place Thursday night. He heads out 58W when we ride out to 29S. Imagine our surprise when we were at a pit stop in Stokesdale, NC, and GLEN pulled in after us!!! He then rode the rest of the way to 40 with us.	Now where did we leave that beer truck? ;) (photos by Ben Dare)
Coming into Winston-Salem (pic by Glen). Glen heads west on 40, and John and I  find the Days Inn on Silas Creek Parkway. Hope to see you on the road again soon, Glen! (photos by Ben Dare)	When we arrive at the hotel, bikes are already lining up. I rode on the back of John's Sporty to the Smokeout on Friday night, and we stayed for a short while checking out the wonderful homebuilt bobbers	and choppers. There were also the familiar faces of some well-known serious bike builders. Lots of vendors selling biker goodies, too. I was nervous about parking my T in the field on Saturday...so I hoped like heck that the paved lot up front wouldn't be full by the time we got there on Saturday.	After riding in the heat and wandering around in the sun at the event on Friday, it was time for a  quick dip in the pool back at the hotel. Days Inn scenery.	Another cool bike at the hotel...
WOOT! We're at the Smokeout!
As soon as we entered the lot, it was exciting to see the uniqueness of each and every one of these rides that were customized by their riders.		I had to check out the Roller Derby girls (video to the right). They were pretty mellow because they had such a small area to skate. They couldn't build up killer speed to have a good jam.	Roller Derby girls video (click the pic)
I am sooo in love with the rat rods!
	Click the pic to view the video of the engine revving!	SEXY pipes!
After Soviet Russia stole the BMW design in WWII, the gave the plans to the Communist China for this military bike.	The gentleman that owns this '49 Indian has ridden it around the world! It was a pleasure listening to his adventures.
			Bikes hauling bikes...check out the box o' chicken gas tank!
	This was an absolutely beautiful little gem.	Hats made of beer boxes...you can find all sorts of odd items at these events.		Cool Cushman scooter.
Now THAT'S a trailer!!	(click the pic to see video shot early Sat. when bikes started rolling in) It was quite a crazy experience riding across the drag strip just to go bouncing over this huge field. I kept saying to myself, "you can do it, just keep rolling". And of course...	...I found one of the biggest holes to dive my bike's front end into!!! But, whew, I made it to a parking space without dumping Matty in the grass! That's why I'm smiling!	INSTANT KARMA - I see a group of  folks having their pic taken by a gal who is obviously part of their group. I offer to snap the shots so she's included, and after taking pics with all of their cameras, they gave me a cold beverage to start my Saturday.	Yes, I was nice and shared my one beer of the weekend with John! :)
This wicked trike parked next to me on Saturday morning. The couple riding it was in their 70's, and very sweet.
See the arrow? That gal with the long dark hair walked around all weekend wearing just a short skirt, nipple jewelry, and a smile. Guys were falling all over themselves to take her picture. One guy was speed walking after her to take a pic of her butt, and John laughed so hard when I yelled, "Run, Forrest, Run"!	There was cool art everywhere!	The love, creativity, and ingenuity that went into each and every ride we saw was amazing.	Check out the ingenious speedometer on this bike! It uses the wind to measure the speed. I can't imagine it's very accurate, but it just shows the type of ingenuity the we encountered all weekend.
Let the drag races begin! Informal racing rules...no lights, no timing, a girl drops the flag and you're off...race anybody you want! Some interesting combinations during the races...
Keino's Customs...Indian Larry's legacy lives on.   Great lines on this frame and gas tank!	French Kiss owned bike. Certainly something unexpected and unique on a bike painter's own ride! I've always been drawn to the Mexican Day of the Dead art, and this distressed Lady of Guadalupe version is killer-folksy!	Leaving the Smokeout. :( This video shows just how far down the dragstrip we had to park. There were thousands of bikes at the event! (click the pic to view video)	Wow...we saw so much cool stuff in two days! No posers at this event, it was all about making the ride your own through sweat and ingenuity. I'd go to this event again over Daytona any day! We saw rat bikes and pretty bikes, roller derby girls, burnouts, and lots of sun. We talked to other builders and painters, and met some really great folks.	I'm looking forward to camping at the event next year, though I know it means I probably won't get much sleep. People weren't too crazy, but it does get rather noisy with all those bikes revving!
Saturday night, John and I ate at Jimmy the Greek's restaurant on the way back to the hotel.   MMMMM! Check out the Mississippi Sweets (sweet potato fries with brown sugar, cinnamon and powdered sugar)!	At about 11:30 PM, folks started rolling back into the hotel lot, and a few of them decided to do burnouts at the Days Inn.		The smoke got a bit thick in the parking lot...	...slightly...
By the time the LEO arrived, the party was pretty much over...	...until an impromptu wet t-shirt contest starts up by the pool...	...with ice cold water...	...and one of the gals decides she wants to learn to do a burnout...topless...	...thank God I'm too old for this kind of "fun"...I went to bed WAY before this party even got started!
Party Shrapnel	Sunday morning, everyone's a bit groggy while packing up to leave.	Attaching my camera to my nifty $6 camera mount for the ride home.	Frank and Ricky decide to ride back to Danville with us. I tell Frank the Rolling Hug story, and it turns out that he participated in the Pediatric Brain Tumor ride last year!	He's now in the Hugger's Hall in my blog.
On the way out of Winston-Salem.	Riding on 158, heading home. Lots of old bridges.	Video of one of the little lakes we see on the way home.	Frank stretches his legs.	We're home! Time for a sandwich at Sheetz.