14SEP - Originally the plan was to ride from Omsk to Petropavlovsk, Kazakhstan, then the next day to Kurgan. Jean and Ross, the Canadians in the group, couldn't get multiple entry visas for Russia so we by passed Kazakhstan and rode from Omsk to Kurgan.
What a day it was. Somehow the weather didn't follow the forecast and as we departed Omsk at 09:00 the 60 degree temperature started to drop, the sky clouded and the rain followed. Then to make it a true challenge we came upon about five miles of gravel a fare bit of it over sections of large rock fill that hadn't yet been packed down by truck traffic. About half way through the mess, and not knowing if it would ever end, and if I could last to the end, I hopped up on to the oncoming lane of the two lane road because it was a better surface. The cars and trucks moved to their right and for the last mile of the hell made it much easier. So much for the 'auful' Russian truck drivers.
As we approached Kurgan I found 'The Family Motel' on my GPS and we found it without a hitch.
We got here at 18:00 local time as we gained another hour today heading West.
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