Marmarth Bottoms Up 2011

Bike parking only

Somebody is doing something right.

A few years ago when I first attended the resurrected Marmarth Bottoms Up rally, I shared the rally with about 200 other bikers.  Now six years later, the numbers approach 1,000.  Riders roll in from Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Minnesota.

Rollin' in to the Rally

Campers on the hill

This year, I didn’t get to attend the whole rally, just Saturday afternoon and evening, so this blog is merely just an assent to the greatest little rally in the Northern Plains States — and an encouragement for you to put it on your calendar for next year. I will

Even though I was only there for a couple hours this year, I could see it’s still the rally I knew it to be six years ago: carefree, laid back, friendly, no cliques, no ownership attitudes, no clubs running the show.  In fact, few people really know about the rally and the Southwest Badlands Motorcycle Riders and the volunteers who put on the rally.

It’s nestled in the hills and bluffs of the Badlands, far from any civilization. Marmarth has a bar and a small convenience store so it’s not a commercialized event like Sturgis Main street. In fact, there are only a half-dozen or so vendors.  And since it’s far from a major city, it doesn’t attract car loads of drunk kids looking for a party.  Nope, this one is about motorcycles and their riders.

Oh, there’s plenty of beer, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not the main event like other smaller rallies in North Drunkota.

This year, I visited with a few folks, snapped a few photos to park in the photo garage on the website http://kickstandsupnd.com.

But next year — see ya there.   In the meantime, you can check out a few more images in the photo garage at http://www.kickstandsupnd.com