Нижний Новгород, or Nizhny Novgorod (NN) is a fascinating place. Lots of history, a Kremlin, a great biker scene and of course – Russian hospitality!

I was given a contact in NN by Misha from Novosibirsk. I was passing right through so I thought I’d give Yuri a call. He met me at the outskirts of the city and took me to a hostel. They were expecting me and it was all covered. After an hour to wind down and freshen up, he came back with a friend and out we went.

First stop was an authentic Irish pub, where the food was excellent and the Guinness too! They had a lot of English beers on tap, including Hobgoblin. It was a fair walk, but worth it – just a little strange to find here in NN.

After a good feed we went for a walk to the local biker haunt. Just a car park with a small coffee hut, but it was great! There’s a really good bike scene in NN, people turning up just to socialise. Every time a bike pulled in, the rider went around and shook everyone’s hand. Very friendly indeed.

We spent an hour or so just taking bikes and sampling English humour, before hitting the local biker night club. With pool tables to keep us busy, I managed to keep a clear head and get to bed reasonably early. (As in 3pm!).

Bikers by night!