OVERLAND JOURNAL FALL 201993people)towheretostayin placesthathadnohotels.Destina-
tionsoutsideofMoscoworSt.Petersburgseeverylittlein
thewayoftourists,sohotelsareuncommon.Oftentheonly
placetostayovernightinsmallervillagesandtownsarein
apartmentbuildingsthatlocalsrentout.Wecampedwhenwe
could,butalsostayedinsurprisinglypleasantcell-block-type
apartment rentalsor dorm-stylehostels,whereI wasoften
theonlyfemaleina roomwithDaveanda fewsnoringmale
truckers.
InYakutsk,wewereinvitedtoa patching-inpartyatthe
Night Wolves’clubhouse,which turned into an unforget-
tableevening,intensifiedbyesophagus-burning,gang-made
vodka.If theneck-tattooedshotdistributorwasn’tencourag-
ingenough,thevodka’stoxicvapourswouldwraparoundyou
likea cobra,squeezingyouintosurrender.Weacquiescedto
itsspellwhilelisteningawestrucktoa throatsingerperform-
inglive,manipulatingtheairtravelingthroughhislungs,vo-
calchords,andmouthtocreateanoutstandingmelody.It was
beautifullycreepyandmeltedthestressfromourshoulders.
DaveandI’dhada fewroughweeks.I arrivedinYakutsk
withnofrontbrakesanda destroyedinstrumentclusterafter
crashingongravelat roughly 90 kph.Mycrashbarswerebent,
theheadmountwascracked,andmybrakereservoirshat-
tered.Thankstofullprotectivegear,I wasunhurt,butmybike
neededa coupleof thousanddollarsworthof work.
OneNightWolvesmember,Victor,setaboutfindingparts
formybrakereservoir,whichwasnoeasytask.It wasn’tlike
therewasa BMWpartsstoreintown;therewasn’tevenan
officialmotorcyclestore.Wewereabletoworkonthebikes
inRussiangarages—small,unkemptshacksinalleywaysthat
localsrentedawayfromhome,nothavingthespaceontheir
ownproperties.Anex-membernamedAnatoliseemedtofeel
theneedtoputmeat easein hisgarage.Heofferedmea muf-
fin,whichI finishedjustbeforehehandedmeanicecream.I
atethisaswell,notingAnatolididn’tfeelDavewasdeserving
ofanytreats,thenwatchedwhileheshowedDavephotosof
his6-year-olddaughteratopvariousmotorcycles.Whenwe
left,Anatoligavemehisbeltbuckle—aheavy,steelriteof pas-
sage that is still one of the best souvenirs I have from our trip.