Omsk to Irkutske
In my last report it stated there was a mere 2000kms to Lake Baikal and UlaanUde. Well I was wrong as the distance was closer to 3000kms. And the road did not improve either. The general rule was after 15kms of excellent new pavement it was followed by 60kms of poor surface and a further 30kms of the worst 'sealed' roads you can imagine. Yes I did achieve 500kms in one day and it was hard constant work. One stretch of 40kms I recall travelling in second gear for much of it as the bitument was completely trashed. The big semi-trailers were doing it tough. It was cruel watching the suspension work on these and trying to imagine what cargo they could be carrying. I was always astounded to find fresh fruit at every small supermarket with bananas from Equador and pink gala apples from Argentina.
Novosibirsk was on par with Omsk as far as the scorecard goes. What a history some of these cities have. Fancy being remembered as a a manufacturer of ammunitions, Katusha rockets and war machinery. Today it is a booming town with more high rise smoking chimneys than the whole of Australia. Yet the through roads were new, modern and Novosibirsk with its mighty river was worth passing through, cos that is literally what I did. In fact I shopped for food and travelled on for a further 80kms to find a peaceful camp spot beside the local cemetery. The company was good as I could talk to them in english and they didn't speak back to me. After three days on the road it was good to have a wash in a cool stream nearby. The weather was getting warmer and I decided to wear my kevlar lined jeans rather than the heavy and hot full protection of motorcycle pants. That lasted until 9:30am as I had met the first two fellow travellers from Germany doing a trip to Mongolia on hired BMW 650's as part of a tour group. I was so engrossed in conversation that none of us noticed a huge storm whisking up behind us. The rest of the day was spent battling wind rain and getting badly lost in Kempomo without any signposts or guidance. By the time I reached Krasnoyarsk it was approaching dark and I could not find any accommodation. I was directed onto what seemed like a new road that had been opened for me that day cos no-one else was using it. The wind was horrendous, it was still raining and to compound all the excitement I realised that the Mule had done 220mls and was due for a well earned drink of benzine. Onto reserve and still no signs of civilisation. The new road completely bypassed Krasnoyarsk and to my utter good luck again a fuel station and roadside cafe with rooms appeared. These 'Kafe's' were a real treat for travellers as they were warm cosy clean and always had friendly staff with lots of good cheap home cooked food. My room was like a mini transportable with basin and a tank similar to a toilet cistern over the top with tap and bucket underside. Despite the constant traffic outside my window all night I was ready for a big day as it was 950kms to Irkutske. I stepped out into the incredibly cold air and then noticed that the mule was covered in ice. I had forgotten to put the Mule's cover on last night. It remained cool for much of the day and the pine and birch forests had returned to replace the mind boggling open farming country. A local fellow I met at a market warned me not to stop on this long section as motorcyclists had been shot and mugged. I past through two relatively small towns that appeared to have huge storage arsenals of miltary hardware and machinery that stretched over many hectares. Both were industrial, shabby, dirty and it encouraged me to ride onto until dusk at 10:00pm before finding a camp safely away from the highway. It was often easier to camp than unpack and secure my gear in a room for the night. I didn't cook but simply carried adequate food such as cheese, wurst, bread, cucumber and fruit.
It took me three days to get to Irkutske because of poor weather and attrocous road conditions. By now the attractions were no longer the cultural landmaks of the cities and I was really looking foward to pushing on to Lake Baikal

Irkutske to Ulaan Ude
By now camping was becoming second nature rather than a chore. I could get the tent up, put the billy on for a coffee, eat and be in bed within the hour. It also made me realse that going without a hot shower for 3-4 days was not hard either. Mind you it helped having cool days and cold nights. I cruised through Irktske easier than any other city in Russia. It was tidy, cleaner and the directions to Ulaan Ude and the M55 were for the first time good. After spending a half hour chatting to the guys at a tyre shack, they directed me down the hill towards Lake Baikal. The road was perfect motorcycle territory with hilly heavily forested terrain and lots of big sweeping bends. All of a sudden Lake Baikal appeared after a steep decent. I had been listening to a Sherlock Holmes yarn on my iPod throughout this part of the journey and it all came to an end as I hit the valley floor and the most southern tip of the giant lake. The air was fresh and there was not a drop of air movement. Lake Baikal was like a mirror and it was simple not posible to gain any idea how big this lake really was. But if you want some facts, Lake Baikal holds one fifth of the earth's supply of fresh water and is in parts 1.6kms deep making it the deepest freshwater lake. So to see it on such a clear spring day was inspiring. The roads winds its way up the eastern shores with a backdrop of high alpine snow crested peaks as a backdrop. It would have been crazy to pass up a peaceful afternoon wandering on a quiet pebbled beach surrounded by snowpeaks, crystal clear water and the most fabulous weather I had experienced since leaving the UK. If I had not been surrounded by the filth of rubbish, plastic bottles and disgusting amounts of garbage the whole expereince would have eclipsed that of Patogonia when I visited in the early 1980's. It really does stand for a mighty challenge that Russians face in tidying up their environment and changing their attitudes towards responsible disposal of rubbish. I guess it is easy to blame the suppliers who provide a steady supply of food and drink in plastic and glass containers. However it is the consumers who make the choice to purchase these products. Hence the onus is on both parties and must include much much better waste disposal facilities throughout Russia.
At 7pm I stopped at a roadside Kofe and went into battle with the menu once again. There were pages of dishes being offered and I had no way of working out what any of them were. I knew about shasliks but they didn't have them so I was left to make a decision without assistance. I thought I had ordered 3 pieces of bread and some kind of dumplings. Instead I got three big potato filled dumplings and (thank god) no bread. I downed the lot with a can of beer much to the horror of the sweet little hostess who had gingerly placed them in front of me and walked out feeling like porky pig. I had been directed to the next Kofe that had rooms just 7 kms down the road. It was rough and shabby but I made friends with the guy who looked after everything outside including the guard dogs (his best mates) and most importantly the banya . For 350p ($18A) I got a room and use of a truly Russian sauna.
I departed early as I did not want a repeat of the previous nights bad judgements in the food department for breakfast. The day just became warmer and the sky by the time I had arrived in Ulan Ude was a total haze presumably derived by the fact that most of Russia's inhabited areas go up in smoke in early spring and the wind was blowing in from the east. Fire is used to reduce last summer's old growth and in some places control the respouting and thickening of tree suckers. It certainly makes the countryside look picture perfect as all the landscapes appear to have manicured lawns. In reality, remember that Siberia experiences a few very bleak months each year during which time absolutely nothing really grows anyhow.
Surprisingly I found the Hotel Buryatiya quite easily and settled in for a couple of days. I had things to do here for I was very worried about the weight I was carrying and was intent of taking a look at what I could ditch before entering Mongolia in a few days. And at this last hour I have just discovered that my visa for Mongolia expired on the 16/5. Hence my border crossing tomorrow is with considerable intrepidation