Lincolnton Hog Happenin (June 7, 2008)

Nope the spelling is right, it was the "Hog Happenin" which was held in Lincolnton, NC on June 7, 2008. I have been to a number of them over the last few years. It is one of my favorite events in the region, since I found out about it a few years ago. I go every year, and have been blessed with very good weather (though a few really overcast ones did not look real good at the time, but turned out ok). Started going with the Honda VLX 600 Shadow, and have been riding the Vulcan there the last few years. In fact, it was one of the first things I did with the bike which I got on June 1, 2005.

The Hog Happenin is a fun event. Lincolnton closes the town square to all cars, and only motorcycles are allowed in. This year I rode up with Ed and Steve from Concord, NC. Its a pretty good ride up NC-73. Steve thought Huntersville would be packed with traffic, but I told him NC does not get up that early (and I was right) so we rolled through there. Got to Lincolnton around 10:30 and they had a really good crowd. That was suprising cause this year the temperature was in the upper 90's! Had to be the warmest one I have been too, but a good crowd was on hand.

In addition to the motorcycles, it is also a barbeque cookoff. There are a number of places selling some of the best barbeque you will find this side of Lexington, NC. To be sure barbeque is a different thing than it was in my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. For one thing it is cooked without sauce on it (you add that either a tomato based or vinegar sauce), and is often topped with slaw. To me, slaw used to be a side dish, but its a popular topping for hamburgers, hot dogs and barbeque. It does grow on you though. They also had a beer tent, bands playing (under some blazing sun, no cover for them which was a bad oversight), and some remarkable bikes. In fact they have bike games, a poker run, and all sorts of vendors on hand. The crowd (due to the heat) was down a little, but still quite a few hundred bikes on hand.

We took the long way back, went a round about route (cause by afternoon Huntersville probably was bumper to bumper traffic) which took us through some interesting towns and out by the US Whitewater Center in Charlotte. If you have never been, and are in the area in early June, its a worthwhile stop to make with some fun people, good food, and nice music (hopefully a bit cooler in 2009!). You can be sure though that I will be there! To find more info Google "Hog Happenin" to check out the web site that Lincolnton has put up. Currently much of the info is about last years event, but they will have 2009 info up in a few months.