OVERLAND JOURNAL FALL 201991tist;heusedtostayoutalleveningpartyinginhisleathers,then
sneakinthroughtheclinicwindowtochangeintoprofessionalat-
tire.A photoonlineof hisHerculeanstatureemergingfroma dark,
smokybackgroundastridea murdered-outmotorcyclelikesome
heraldicczarmadeit hardtoimaginethosehandsinsidepeople’s
mouths—unlesshewaspullingoutteethfortorturouspurposes.
Mostworrying tomewashisloathingforjournalists,some-
thingI’djustcalledmyselfinmyhurriedemailtotheclub.“I don’t
wanttomeetanyforeigners,”heis quotedassayinginaRolling
Stonearticlefrom2015,“[they]won’twriteanythinggood.”Healso
hates“America,Europe,homosexuals,liberals,andtraitorousfifth-
columnists,”andis knowntopraiseStalin.
I thoughtaboutallthepersonalinformationwewouldneedto
handoverfortheinvitationletter—passportcopies,dateofbirth,
nextof kin—andthat byincludingourwebsite,I’dessentiallygiven
theNightWolves24-houraccesstoour
very whereabouts via a live GPS link
honinginoffourInReachdevice.HadI
justwalkedusintosomethingnewswor-
thy?“TwoNaiveTravelersOfferThem-
selvesToPutin’sAngels!”
Within minutes of sending the
email,however,myinboxpingedwitha
“failuretosend”message.I breatheda sighofreliefknowingthe
NightWolveswouldneverknowanythingaboutus.
Ironically,withintwodaysofarrivinginMoscowinearlyJuly
2017,DaveandI satat a large,last-supper-styletableat Sexton—
a NightWolves’clubhouseinMoscow.Ourinvitationlettershad
beensortedthroughBMWRussia,as wewereridingtwoF 800GS
bikes,sohowdidwefindourselvesvoluntarilywithinthegang’s
confinesnow?
I’dmetAlexandra,orAl,as sheprefers,afterjoininga Facebook
groupforBMWridersinRussia,andshehadbeena wealthof
information.WhenDaveandI arrivedinMoscow,sheofferedto
meetusat thecity’soutskirtswithherS 1000RRBMWsportbike
andrideusin.Althoughtwemightfindthecityoverwhelmingand
wantedtohelpusfindourwayaround.
It wasAlwhoarrangedthemeetingwiththeNightWolvesaf-
terDavetoldherwewereridingto Magadan,6,000kilometreseast
ofMoscow.Shethoughtwewerecrazy,worriedlikeanoldfriend,
andwantedustohaveasmuchinformationaspossiblebeforewe
venturedoff—eventhoughwewerenearlytwomonthsawayfrom
thatgoalwithmuchof Russiastillonthehorizon.
Alandherhusband,Eugene,introducedustothetableastwo
Canadianslookingforrouteinformationaboutridingto Magadan.
TheWolves were friendly,except for an unsmilingleather-clad
womanattheheadofthetablewhoremindedmeofGemma,an
evilcharacterinSonsof Anarchy.Onlyonememberdrankbeer.An-
otherdrankzavarka,a traditionalRussiantea.Theywerehappyto
sharetheirknowledgeandgaveusthenamesandnumbersof other
memberswecouldcallalongtheway.“AnytroubleinRussia,”said
onesilver-hairedman,rollinghisRswitha voiceasstrongasthe
musclesbustingoutof hisT-shirt,“calldeespeoples.Youcantrust.”
I lookedoveratAl.Beforeourarrival,shehadprebookedand
paid for two nights for us to stay at a hotel. “I wanted it to be safe,”
she’dsaid,“the mafiarunsa lotof thehotelshere.”TheNight
Wolf ’swordsechoedin mymind.
AlandEugeneseemedwellconnectedthemselves.Maybenot
tothemafia,andtheyweren’tmembersoftheNightWolves,but
somethingallowedthema certainairofconfidence.Wewerein-
structedtocallAlif wehadanyquestions,concerns,ortroublein
MoscoworanywhereelseinRussia.Standingwellunder5 feet
tallwitha facelikea porcelaindollanddreadlocksdowntoher
shoulders,Alwasa toughlittlefirecrackeranda forcetobereck-
onedwith.“I haveguys,”shetoldus,“Myguyswillhelpanywhere
youarein Russia.”
Afterthatmeetingat Sexton,DaveandI foundourselveswith
connectionswecouldneverhaveknownwouldbecomesovalu-
abletousonourtravelsacrossRussia.Thecountry’smostnotori-
ousmotorcyclegangbecameourgo-toforeverythingfromwhere
to find parts (which was difficult enough, even knowing the rightThe country’smost
notoriousmotorcycle
gangbecameour go-to
for everythingfrom
whereto find partsto
whereto stay in places
that had no hotels.Oskars,a memberof AdventureTeamLatvia,keepshis bike afloatdur-
ing a downpourin the Altairegion.You’renevertoo old or too youngto
becomepart of the NightWolves’family.Opposite:We wererewarded
with a supremevistaoverthe Altairegionafterridinga seriesof gravel
switchbacksto the top.Openingpage:A woman at the Night Wolves’
patching-in party sips home-brewed vodka.