Third Annual Indy Mad Max Motorcycle Run 2016

What a day! What a lovely day! Last month in Indiana's capital, bikers from multiple states came dressed in their craziest post-apocalyptic gear and rode shiny and chrome through Indianapolis to the gates of Valhalla for the third annual Indy Mad Max Run (see them on Facebook here). Awards were given for best apocalyptically dressed, and best apocalypse-themed motorcycle, war rig, or war machine.

I rode down from Chicago in a highly customized school bus since my personal bike isn't even remotely cool enough to be seen next to the entire kick- ass that the other wastelanders spent months creating. We scared more than a few people while cruising down I-65 the night before in the rolling death machine, aptly named the Daddy War Bus. The bus was donned with a deadly spiked cattle guard in the front and a few 50 caliber rifles sticking out of the window. Inside is a large arsenal of weapons from grenade launchers to AK-47's and everything in between. The owner of the bus supplies movies with these realistically fake weapons.

Seth Mansue is the creator of the event and got his idea from a group of guys in Milwaukee (see Milwaukee Mad Max Run here on Facebook) who is led by Cormac Kehoe. Cormac and his crew came up with the idea about 10 years and have been doing it ever since. Most of the Milwaukee guys come down to Indianapolis to join in the marauds and the Indy guys do the same. Both events are usually run within a few weeks of each other.

The ride started at 11 at Get Bent Custom Cycles and concluded with a post-war party at the Melody Inn (melodyinn.com).

Unlike the movie, we had no problem with water as it rained the entire time but that didn’t stop nearly 60 riders to don their gear and live life in a post-apocalyptic world for a day.