Early morning start and happy to leave the hostel. It was OK, but of all the types of accommodation out there, I think hostels are not for me; I like my own space and a bit of privacy. Not that this hostel was bad and the people staying there were lovely, but just not for me.
I found the path out of Belgrade easily and crossed over the Pancevo bridge which looked rather striking in the bright early morning sunshine.
There was a small boat with a couple of fishermen in it lying lazily back with their lines glinting in the sun.
The path followed an unsurfaced dyke and I thought of Michael and his unending quest to avoid bad roads. As I cycled along, with a bunch of dead tree trunks floating on my right which lent the Danube a somewhat strange, ethereal air. The surface wasn’t too awful but I still worried a bit about my bike, enough to get off the track at the first opportunity before the industrial town of Pancevo.
I was hungry as I hadn't had time to eat anything beforehand; it had been too early. Luckily shops were open on Sundays and I soon came across a queue outside a bakery and got a huge hunk of Borek with meat and another scone thing, which I wolfed down at a nearby cafe which was closed but the tables were outside anyway. Felt much better, as always thinking about the fact it was OK to eat that kind of unhealthy stuff as I had eaten healthily the night before.
I had my mobile data turned off so couldn't contact Bart, but I had stopped feeling too worked up about that after some time in the saddle. Riding does that to you, makes life easier as you go. The weather was super sunny and I felt good, I had already booked my accommodation and before I knew it, I was passing through a small village just short of Omoljica where I stopped for a coffee and some WiFi.
Feeling very local, I hummed and haad about taking the unsurfaced route which would be prettier or the surfaced road. I no longer worry about trucks and anyway, it was a Sunday so figured there would be less traffic.
I decided on the surfaced option to Kovin and then think about the unsurfaced option to my hotel room which I had booked at Stara Palanka. Route was a bit samey, lots of corn fields and nothing of note to look at, but the bike and I appreciated it. Got to the outskirts of Kovin which seemed pretty desolate with just a couple of trucker stops.
I got a coke, logged on and left a message to Bart saying I had taken the surfaced route and by that point, I had also decided to continue on surfaced all the way to at least Dubovac where, after having read Lauren's blog, I thought I would take the unsurfaced dyke. It was touch and go in fact, difficult as always for me to make up my mind. So, more of the same until Dubovac where I had to log in and got messages from Bart who said he had taken the dyke and he regretted it as he was knackered by it all. What was crucial was that yes, the views may be better but you don't look at them as you are always focussing on the path ahead so you can avoid potholes. So happy I had taken the boring route.
Once I got to Dubovac, I went onto dyke but then straight back to main road and onto Stara Palanka (after getting a bit lost at the village before.
Got my room, which was pretty good for 10€, had a lovely lady owner and nice barman. Place smelt of dog and there was a smelly, pregnant one lying at base of the steps. But room had a/c and a bathroom, so all good. Lady was keen to point out that it had a TV.
I told Bart as they had a spare room for him and sunk a couple of beers straight away. Drunk man at bar kept giving me kisses and to Bart when he arrived. Waited for Bart and was happy to see him. We both showered, had a beer and then a meat feast dinner in a lovely riverside restaurant.
The ferry leaves at 8.30AM tomorrow to cross over for the next day and they only go every two hours, so need to be ready. My bike chain is making odd noises, so need to give it a clean as well, I think.
Email from Michal to say he was happy with the video for school and he shows the route to around 150 kids every day as part of his geography class. Made me feel good.
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