Had a breakfast of fried eggs, mashed potatoes with bread - essential for travelling. Was a little bit worried in the first 10km about my speed ... but then I remembered the beers and shots from the night before, and it all made sense. sigh. My body started to warm up around 10-15km and I finally got up to a good pace. Lots of moderate hills to climb followed by short fast downhills. MOre open spaces again, and you can tell that spring comes a little bit later to the Volga!
Stopped in a roadside cafe for more shashlik, borscht and salad. Finished the last climb to the banks of the Volga (and would have taken a photo, but for the 6 dogs chasing me!)
Had a fantastic 2km descent into Saratov where I was passing buses and matroshkas! Had to ride about 10km through industrial suburbs before reaching the city. Promptly got lost trying to find my M-Video rendez-vous with Elya, my Hospitality Club host, but found Lenin Square! Met up with Elya and went to her family's house (fantastic!) and had a shower followed by a delicious dinner replete with vodka and beer. 
Happily went to sleep on the fold-out couch in the spacious living room.
I'm enjoying following your marathon bike trip, Jeff. :) It's always nice to live vicariously through your friends. I originally thought that such a trip would be very lonely but it seems that you're not lacking company! Good luck and safe travels!
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