I came across the border and headed for the single money exchange kiosk and pulled out my remaining Hungarian Forints which were sumeraly refused!
Now I am no hot shot management consultant but if someone came to me with the idea of running an exchange business on the Hungarian border and refusing their currency I would say it was a bad one. I asked if they changed Euros as I had some of them. They did but then I got belligerent, not like me I know, and though to hell with it I'll take my business elsewhere. I also got a text on my phone to say now I was out of the EEC data now cost 20p per Mb so stuck £10 on my account which I thought would last for a bit.
As I rode off into the open country I thought just where was elsewhere exactly! I rode through the next couple of villages which were not on my map but nothing but corner shops I was starting to worry as I had no ready Serbian money. I came to the next town Sombro which was and looked pretty sizeable and also on another route to the border but no currency exchange in sight on my first sweep. As I reached the outskirts did a U-turn and I looked again and found a place down one of the back streets crisis solved!
From Sombro as you can see I left the Eurovelo 6 and the Danube the blue line below which looked like a snail on my smack noodles swerving south and I took the more direct route to Novi Sad. My map as you can see was in Cyrillic alphabet but the main roads signs were using the Latin text and so was my phone. So I took a moment to write these onto my map and was good to go.
D3E next to Sombro meant Day 3 End which was my projection but I had made such good progress through Hungary I got there at 10 am. This being the case I pressed on and soon overtook this lot who were out for a tuneful morning drive!
I continued to make good progress on the flat road with a developing tail wind and just ate the snacks I had bought in Hungary as I when but decided to have a break at Odzaci not least to recover from the Serbian drivers who had reached a new level of close passing and made me think I need to rig up a give me some (add expletive) room barrier when I get the chance.
I also had to dry off my tent so had a huge ice cream which cost £2 whilst I waited.
Tent dry I bought some provisions and headed off, I must have tempted fate because soon it began to rain quite light at first but so I kept going thinking lets keep going whilst it is not too bad. After another 20 miles it got heavier so I thought it was time to throw the towel in but had done 82 miles in total.
I sneaked up an overgrown track next to a river and thought this must be Ok no vehicles must used this anymore. Got my short-lived dry tent up and had just finished when a Range Rover appeared from the opposite direction pushing its way down the track!
There was nowhere to hide so I gave a friendly wave and the window came down. There were two guys about my age inside.
"Where are you from?" Manchester I said (I claim honorary Manc status on this trip as people know where it is and I have lived there most of my adult life)
"Where are you going?" Singapore
"on a bike?" Yes
"are you mad?" Clearly I replied.
They said good luck and headed off but then the reversing lights came on and they were back and out of the car. They gave me a bottle of beer then we had a selfie, then a bottle of what they called local whisky was produced which was actually fruit brandy my health was toasted. Just as I was beginning to wonder where this was heading they were thankfully off again.
It continued to rain and I checked the forecast which showed more of the same tomorrow. I could just plough on and get to Belgrade the next day but checked my hotel booking and it could not be changed so found a cheap hotel in Novi Sad and decided stop there.
It rained all night and in the morning I got a text to say my £10 top up on my phone had gone at this rate it would be cheaper to get the train! I needed to sort out a local sim card.
I packed up a soaking tent and battled through the rain to Novi Sad arriving at 9.30 and met up with the Danube again at which point the sun came out.
My route from here was to follow the river south to Belgrade and then more east and into Romanian.
I started thinking let's just go it's only 54 miles to Belgrade and I could camp just outside the city. Then I had a coffee and a reality check and thought why would I want to sit in a wet tent when I had paid for a hotel room here so accepting that was it for the day.
I took a tour round the city which was really nice see the slideshow below.
Wait a minute, look at the last photo, what the hell is that shed doing in the river?
The city does not embrace the river like some of the others. The historic centre is away from the river bank which is isolated by a dual carriageway but as I headed back off the bridge dark clouds were brewing up. time for some lunch.
At this point the heavens opened and it hammered it down for the rest of the day. As I had a leisurely lunch I thought that stopping was the best decision I've ever taken!
The next morning the rain had stopped and at 8 am I was on the road bracing myself for more Serbian driving it was however surprisingly quiet then I remembered it was the 1st May and would be a public holiday.
It forecast more rain in the afternoon so the hammer was down to get to Belgrade I was going well until I hit a 4 km climb the first big hill in over a week but I took it in my stride and then dropped back to the Danube flood plain. I took a road that was close to but not next to the river which seems to be the way with this section of the route which is a shame but I guess they have to allow from the flood which if too close would cut sections off when the Alps melt water comes streaming down from the Alps.
The cycle route signs kept saying 60 miles to go but my route was 54 so when they diverged I stuck to mine but kept thinking have I made a mistake but no on 53 miles I hit the river.
This was really wide now and Belgrade was in sight but is just off to the right up the River Sava.
I carried on thought New Belgrade then crossed the River Sava tributary and into the Old City.
A thunder clap announced my arrival at my hotel and as soon as I got my bike and stuff in the room it started raining and was bouncing off the cars as I had a well earned beer!
On my day off I tried to do some shopping but many places were extending the public holiday and closed but I did manage a haircut and a massage which was not as painful as the last which was a positive sign.
Then I managed a few hours sightseeing before heading back to my hotel to write this blog slides below.
The next morning I prepared to leave and swapped the chain on my bike to even the wear then headed off to try and complete my shopping as I still needed a sleeping mat and some gas. The nearest outdoor shop to me didn't open for an hour so I struck out for another across the bridge in New Belgrade. As soon as I hit the bridge my gears started to give me problems with the new chain jumping about and slipping I started to think did I get the right chain?
I persevered and clunked my way directed by my phone and arrived at a large mall and told I had arrived at the Nike store user error of course! I put in the right address for the outdoor shop and again clunked there to find no store just a patch of landscaping in an area of social housing there was another big mall opposite but by now the shop near the hotel was open and I didn't fancy leaving my bike unattended so cut my losses and headed there. Before that I took time to adjust my gear and get the bike running better which seemed to do the trick.
I managed to pick up some gas but not a mat so then went to the supplement shop I was recommended for some electrolyte powder to add to my drinking water. They had it but only in builders buckets so drew a blank there. As I passed through the city I remembered there was a sports shop so thought I could maybe pick up a gym mat there I was in luck they had a small outdoor section so was able to buy a cheap foam mat which I can put under my self deflating mattress until I can either repair or replace.
I fought my way through the city and then came to the only bridge over the Danube to get me to the north shore and my route onward. I checked the map twice as it was a busy dual carriageway and I could see no cycle lane. The first slip road I took had a footpath but that petered out I saw another slip road further down so back tracked and got on than. Again the footpath disappeared but there was a cyclist warning sign so I thought it must be legal, took the plunge and pulled out into the traffic. Fortunately on the main span of the bridge a path appeared so I used that.
As I left the bridge I was looking at a lot of slip roads and filter lanes but then saw a sign for the good old Eurovelo 6 cycle route so dived off to the right through some back roads and was soon free of the city and had my hotel pack lunch pilfered from the breakfast buffet. It was 2pm I had been on the bike for three hours including my shopping and needed a break!
As you can see the route from here was a rough track but it was a joy compared with the city. I followed this for another 10 miles which started to get tough with my speed down to 5 mph and a lot of effort but at Pancevo I was able to get onto a quiet road and made better progress. I opted not to get back onto the rough dyke but to stay on the tarmac and take my chances with the mad Serbian drivers. The chain was working fine now and had bedded in I progressed to within 30 miles of the Romanian border before I stopped for the night.
The next morning I made good progress and 20 miles in stopped for a break at what I thought was a coffee shop but turned out to be a fast food so I had a chicken burger whilst my tent dried.
I also spotted up the street a hardware store and popped in and bought an extending floor mop which together with a section of my sleeping map and high vis vest I turned into a homemade traffic deflector (better late than never) see photos below.
The man at the shop said he had relations in Corby and gave me a huge Granny Smith apple.
Deflector deployed not fully that would be OTT I headed for the border managed to get my money changed no problem had my passport stamped at the Serbian side and was in Romania.
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