Inside Tbilisi’s Biker Bar
A hot summer’s night in Tbilisi and the roar of motorcycles fills the air at the very end of a sidestreet running adjacent to the city’s Opera House.
Tbilisi’s Biker Bar - © Onnik James Krikorian 2015
Children playing in potato sacks and on bicycles pass by as half a dozen motorbikes park on what is otherwise the approach to their homes. For the past six months the sight and sound of the Cross Riders Motorcycle Club (MC) pulling up outside their clubhouse and bar has become part of everyday life.
Grisha Avetisyan - © Onnik James Krikorian 2015
Despite the negative stereotypes that bikers often attract, nobody is concerned. Through the window above, 26-year-old Grisha Avetisyan, one of Cross Riders’ co-founders, can be seen tattooing a client while others drink in the larger room next door.
Data MakashviliThe name doesn’t have a religious meaning. It’s more to do with the crosses on the Georgian flag.
We sometimes ride with those flags too.
Gio Chkhartishvili - © Onnik James Krikorian 2015
“It’s a clubhouse, bar, and chapter,” explains Cross Rider’s 23-year-old president, Gio Chkhartishvili, who established the MC two years alongside friend and vice-president Beka Nizharadze.
Gio ChkhartishviliEveryone is welcome at the bar. We do not support or engage in any kind of political movement and attitudes towards us are very positive, even from the police. We feel respect from their side. They never stop us for no reason and even when they do have some cause they are always polite.
In the aftermath of the Tbilisi flood, the Cross Riders MC were also crucial to circumvent Tbilisi’s chaotic roads by transporting supplies and medicines for the victims through terrible traffic jams that have become a common feature of the city.
Data MakashviliWe also took dog food to the shelter that had been destroyed
Cross Riders Motorcycle Club - © Onnik James Krikorian 2015
Although bikers are often in the majority at the bar, the clientele is mixed, attracting students, young professionals, and even visitors from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Tajikistan. The music is varied too, although rock and metal is more commonplace. Nevertheless, even old rock ’n’ roll classics from the 1950s can get the clientele on their feet and dancing. Spontaneous jam sessions by local musicians are also an attraction while profits from the bar go to the MC’s budget.
Qeti Mindiashvili - © Onnik James Krikorian 2015
Twenty-year-old Qeti Mindiashvili is one of the bartenders. “I don't like Cross Riders,” she jokes.
Qeti MindiashviliI love them. All of these guys are my closest friends and we are one big family. We made the bar with our own hands last winter even though it was freezing cold.
Tbilisi’s Biker Bar - © Onnik James Krikorian 2015
“We are establishing a new culture,” adds Makashvili. “We are very local, we are very genuine, and we are doing things they way we want to do them. We are not copying anyone. We have our own rules and we have our own standards. We found our freedom on the roads.”
Gio ChkhartishviliThe main purpose of establishing Cross Riders was to gather like minded people who don’t give a damn about the sun and the moon and who are only about riding. It’s never happened before in Georgia so it’s fresh and it’s new for everyone. And we have plans, at first to start with our neighbours. We not only hope to establish new chapters, but to also ride to Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey.
Inside Tbilisi’s Biker Bar - © Onnik James Krikorian 2015
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