Left the hotel at 900h and found my way out of town in the direction of Kazan.
I knew that I was in a little bit of trouble when I first turned north into the strong headwind. It is a little bit frustrating to have to peddle downhill (Like in Wyoming Sjoerd!) 
The first 40km were rolling hills with a head/sidewind often sheltered by legions of roadside trees. Kept on trucking until I turned into the full 40km/h headwind. 
Had to fight hard to make the next 10km over exposed plains. 
Eventually, I saw the Volga again and I knew that I was nearing Tetushi, a place where hotels and cafes likely existed! Stopped just short and had an ice cream (oh what a crutch you are!) before heading into town.
Rode around Tetushi for a few minutes and found the padlocked hotel. Stopped just around the corner and asked one guy (Marcel) on the street if there was another hotel in town. He said (at least my understanding of what he said was) that he would get the hotel opened for me! He drove around (with me following on my trusty stead) calling people until he reached the right party. We went back to the hotel and I paid $9 for my double room (sadly w/o shower). After a quick splash in the bathroom sink, I gave Marcel a shout and he picked my up and we went to a cafe for dinner. Had a good meal and then, again to my surprise, Marcel generously picked up the tab! We then went for a drive around the city, down to the Volga, to the local mosque, and to pick up his girl friend. I was then dropped off at my hotel to grab a little shuteye for the big day of riding tomorrow.
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