In which Sid and Doris cross the mosquito swamp and railway works to reach a riverside dinner.
So this was the day that had us reaching for the train timetable. But now we have our heads and legs back together. Epic is often about the head, which can become overloaded. The legs are better too. Today we make 83 kilometres, some at 28 kph and others at walking pace, because we are walking.
The day divides neatly into four parts.
One: cycle out of Novi Sad on the alleged Route Six with all of its amenities, no signposts, non-existent cycle paths, Lafarge cement trucks and poorly repaired roads. Look, they have no rail system and a miserable road network. Only poor locals would use a bicycle. Rich tourists on bicycles are too rare to be worth spending much on. What do you expect? Well what you get is a rubbish road out of Novi Sad.
Two: Happily, just before the opportunity to join the trucks on a 9% hill there is a turning off onto what is initially a tarmac road. We share this with trucks going to the cement products factory. It was last repaired before the new road was built over the hill. It gets muddy. We see the abandoned rail station on the line to Belgrade. They have kept the platform lights on and will for another five years.
Muddy does not do it justice once we enter the woods and weeds. Sid suggests you think more of Blashford Snell’s crossing of the Darien Gap. There is mud, there are huge clouds of biting insects. Doris detests the insects. The insects love Doris. So in the middle of the jungle we stop and empty a quarter of a tin of DEET over the Doris, which calms the situation. And then we get to the building site where the railway reconstruction is underway. Blashford Snell’s Land Rovers would have been fine. Frankly a bit of an ask for a bicycle. Thank Heavens for the Euro Velo Six. Remember, any other route might have been worse. Maybe swamp, leeches, hotel coffee and the Fontana Muzak.
The third quarter is just on hot roads. We know they are hot and are pleased to see a garage sign showing 41.7’C. And before we can get a picture it clicks up to 41.8. But we love these roads because they are smooth and have no biting or stinging creatures. At break time we sit with the derelicts under the village trees where they drink beer and we have sugar drinks. Not sure what I would do if I lived there. Maybe move to Penmaenmawr or Detroit, somewhere with a future. Serbia has a brain drain.
The fourth quarter puts us onto a road running into Belgrade. This is a mite busy and Euro Velo Six amenity is oddly absent. No, we are not looking for a cycle way. The idea that Serbia has a cycle way is an utter fantasy. It has places where you can cycle and a map that shows where it is likely least dangerous or frightening, And part of that is the Darien Gap route.
We are stopping short of the city centre. From our splendid hotel we walk down to the banks of the Danube for beer and fish dinner. What fun to watch the huge barges manoeuvre, some stopping for the night and some pushing on upstream. For the next few days we will be in touch with the river. All short days, partly because there are few hotels in the National Park. From now on our lodgings will be what is available and we can see some spots ahead where that is not much.
Practical details: tonight we are putting iodine tabs in the bottles. We don’t need to poison ourselves; not when there is local cooking. And Sid has new shorts as those from home, while sturdy, are a bit hot and (look away now if of delicate disposition) have begun to chafe. If you can’t sit, you can’t ride.
So a few days of ice cream and idleness have set us up for the road to the Iron Gates. Tomorrow we will look into Belgrade for Official Sightseeing before a short day to Kovin.