Omsk, Russia. Today I focused on cross-cultural similarities between peoples. I've been feeling a bit harsh in my descriptions of Russian life. I am sitting in my window on the 10th floor of the Tourist Hotel in Omsk overlooking a community beach on the Om River. The beach is sardined with families and sunbathers. The water activities include swimming, boating and an occasional jet or water skier. It is much the same as a sunny Sunday on a beach in the States.

People come to the water to replenish their souls. I wandered down earlier to take a nap but instead sat and listened, viewing the skimpy bikinis and Speedos, the overt body disclosures, the family fun, the kissy couples. It could have been the Jersey shore. Who am I to judge Russian life, me who lives in Montpelier, Vermont, where people have jobs, safe water, income sufficient to take care of our needy, and clean bathrooms. It really is all about perspective. These people love each other, have families and friends, work hard, and have struggled through harsher realities than I have. Yes, they have young kids who smoke and do drugs, crime, pollution and litter, but then so do we, just not outside my back door. I am blessed.

The Russian name for Omsk is Rossiya. We are now 2,700K from Moscow and just north of Khazakhstan. It is the second largest city in Russia beyond the Urals. Omsk is a cross junction of highways along the Trans-Siberian Railway and is a commerce thoroughfare. For a brief period of time during the Russian Civil War in 1918-1919, Omsk was proclaimed the capital of Russia and the Imperial gold reserves were kept in its central bank. Omsk was also once the seat of the Governor General of Siberia and later the Governor General of the Steppes. It is underperforming the Russian average for economic growth and quality of life. A metro is being built and the City was presented with the Omsk 3406 asteroid in 1997.

We have crossed another time zone and moved deeper into the abyss of inconveniences:€“ no coffee or bad coffee, questionable foods, sketchy laundry services, more bugs and smelly toilets. One of our teammates suffered an extreme bout of food poisoning, others have the stomach rumbles. Those who have not rinsed out their own clothes are running out. In fact, Will was running around our hotel lobby in a towel with nothing to wear but the 10 pairs of socks found in someone else'€™s clean laundry.

The night shifts are tough. Shiri and I scored a much needed in room massage from a local woman but not much sleep. I found BBC on the local network and enjoyed internet access and news from home.

Late night entry. Tonight I ran the 10:30 to midnight shift. Vicki from communications joined me for the first two miles, feeling alive in her homeland. This part of Siberia is massive and beautiful. We have another 12 days to get through. The traffic is light and the landscape much cleaner. One of our staff joined me on the bike but bailed because of the bugs. I then suffered four miles under siege. The only positive thing I can say about these vicious insects is they make me run faster. We move on to sleep in Chany.