Day 30 - Belgrade to Kovin- 76.5 kms

26 Jun

Today was probably the worst day for me on the ride as it presented some interesting challenges in many respects

My mother always said bad things come in 3 and today was certainly that and the 3 bad things were as follows:

We had another 10 kms of unpaved roads which were badly overgrown and were as slippery as anything given the rain of the past few days
I had another 2 flat tyres as a result of thistle thorns getting in my tyres
I left my backpack at the stop we had in a place called Benatski Brestovak ( BB from now on) which had my passport, money ( about 200 Euros) and one of my credit cards

So.... it was not a good day

The good news is that we met a fellow at BB at our drink stop who was simply marvellous in sorting out a local policeman who found the bag minus the money but everything else was fine.... sometimes there are good people who can be the good Samaritans when the time comes

Chris has also been a great help today in my time of difficulty and I thank him for his friendship and support in this trying day

Chris even wrote part of my blog today and I will copy his comments as follows :

Not one of our better days yet it will probably be the day we most remember...

A good start getting away from and out of Belgrade something I would not have been wanting to do any later once the city workers began pouring in to work.

We had the Danube to cross at one of the many bridges. Our navigation was not the best at getting on to the bridge and so we were on the narrow footpath facing the oncoming traffic (now quite busy). These bridges are looking too, however we successfully made it across thr river and then head the challenge of getting across the on and off ramps plus a double train line in the middle!!

We weren't keen to make a run for it so an alternative track down and under the bridges was located and off we went. Like bridges and the areas under them all around the world this was no different except probably worse in that the local demolition and trucking firms treated the area as their own private waste dumping ground and where the track should have been we had truck loads of rubbish to get through.

We pushed on and eventually did get to the right trail in the other side if the bridge.

Away we went until the closed flooded road sign called for a committee meeting. The decision was to proceed. With frogs jumping out of my way I made it to the other side of the flooded road and carried on.

Shortly after this the track became "unpaved" and after all the rain we were a bit dubious about following it however the alternative wasn't really an option as that was quite a busy road.

The track followed thre top of the stop bank which ordinarily is a good choice. However today not so. It was covered in looking grass and vegetation and clearly didn't get much use. We had 10 km of track to ride so push on we did with a drink stop along the way.

At the next town we stopped for a drink. Cappuccino for Peter and a cup of black tea for me. My Serbian was about as good as the cafe ladies English and so to help I produced a "English Breakfast" tea bag having learnt earlier on that "black tea" over here results in one getting served "Earl Grey" with a slice of Lemon!

No tea like I had but I did manage to order a cup of hot water into which I can put my own tea bag. Great.

However when it arrived i had a glass of cold water and an empty mug! At that point I accepted that a glass of cold water will be fine...

On our way again.

Then at about the 40 km mark Peter pulls up with a flat tyre! Bugger. But the good news was there were some shade trees just across the road and no mosquitos.

Thre packs come off Peter's bike and her sets to replacing the tube. In thre meantime I go to check his rear tyre on the bike for thorns (the culprits this time) only to find that had a puncture as well. Gotta hand it to Peter he doesn't do things in half measures....

Both punctures were repaired and we were on our way again. Came across a village and decided a drink wad in order so we pulled in for a cool one. Had a good chat with three of thr locals and fit under way again.

Then at the 50 km mark I hear Peter getting am upset. "Why you stopping? What's up mate I said"

"I've left my back pack back at the last cafe"!

And that's how I come to be sitting by myself under the shade of a tree on a Serbian roadside waiting while Peter rides back to collect his back pack.....

Oh Dear...

This is me writing again

After getting back to the cafe not finding my bag it was time to sort out what needed to be cancelled and it was credit cards first then my passport

As I said we had a Good Samaritan in Zoran who was helpful in contacting the police who later found my bag but unfortunately I had canceled my passport so will need to sort out a temporary passport in Belgrade in the next day or so

After thanking Zoran and the police it was off to our new closer destination for the night at Kovin. In all the mucking around at BB Chris sorted out revised accommodation.

So it was on to Kovin up the road about 20 kms to finish the day

We are now staying in a comfortable hotel in Kovin which has towels and air conditioning and we were able to wash our clothes..... small things that go positive in a day like today are appreciated

Now for the photos...

The road ahead.... we had 10 kms of this yuck!