1000km … Can you even ride that far?

I get up early and wander by the river. The sunrise here is just so beautiful. I love the peaceful mornings and watching the world wake up.

Today we cross over the bridge from Croatia to Serbia. There is an almost immediate change of surroundings. The town of Backa Palancka feels like a step back in time. Horse and buggies move through the main street as we hunt for an ATM to pick up some of the local currency. We don’t linger in town: our eyes are on Novi Sad and a two-night break.

There’s a quite noticeable change once we cross over to Serbia. The EV6 route was signposted in a rudimentary fashion in Hungary, and in Croatia. Here in Serbia, the route is signposted, not only well and frequently, but the signs have little inspirational quotes in Serbian and in English to help us along our way. My favourite of the day:

From my viillage I can see everything that can be seen from Earth to Universe.
That is why my village is as big as any other place.
Since I am measured by what I see and not by my height. (Fernando Pesoa).

The kindness we experienced in Hungary and Croatia continues here, starting a change of my views on Serbia. We are stopped at an intersection, scanning for a sign to show where we need to go (perhaps the only difficult navigation of the whole day). Within seconds a car stops and a man steps out, wanting to help.

We also have a huge milestone today: 1000km of riding on this trip.

I keep an eye on my Garmin. We want to stop and mark the milestone. It arrives in a bit of a nowhere place and we stop by the side of our dirt track. What to do? How do we mark this?

I spend time setting up my camera to take a photo. We decide we’ll park the bikes and leap like a Toyota ad.

Easier said than done. These legs, these 1000km legs, are not that keen on leaping. We try a few times; the lift is not great. We adjust. We position the bikes downhill and leap from the top of a small rise.

It works! We fake a leap on tired legs.

After our 1000km ceremony we push on to Novi Sad. If I say it’s hot do I sound like a broken record? There’s not a lot of note along the way, just a dusty track and a longing to get to somewhere where it is cool. Novi Sad cannot come soon enough.

We are staying in an Airbnb and I contact our host, Vesna, as soon as we arrive. She tells us to sit tight and turns up quickly, with bottles of lovely, ice-cold water for us. Bliss!

We are staying in an apartment right on the river, with a view of the Petrovaradin Fortress. Vesna is lovely. She is also very, very tall. I guess basketball player, but she is actually a volleyball player, still playing, still professional. She lives with her mother in the apartment next to the one where we are stying; there’s a very convenient garage for our bike. 

It’s great to be able to sit and relax in this apartment. We are staying two nights here, which is a blessing to be able to relax and hide away from the heat. There’s also chores to be done: washing, always washing, and our apartment has a washing machine for us to use.

Vesna is apologetic that she has plans for the afternoon and must leave us. We appreciate her hospitality, but, in truth, just want to close the door and spread out.

After we’ve recovered from the heat (and done the washing) we venture out and cross the bridge to the Petrovaradin Fortress where there are restaurants. We dine at a restaurant with a view over Novi Sad and a friendly and very attentive waiter. I wish I could report on gourmet delights, but sadly, my choice is limited to my old friend the fried chesese.

Stats for today:

• Distance: 51.5km
• Climb: 46m
• Average speed: 19.1km/h
• Average temperature: 34C
• Moving time: 2:41:24
• See our ride on Strava

The beer picture

At the end of a day’s ride, our tradition is to enjoy a beer, and to photograph it for posterity. Today’s beer picture was taken at a restaurant at the Petrovaradin Fortress overlooking Novi Sad.

Along the way today: