I highly recommend the Long Tour Bike Camp in Sombor. Do make a point of staying there if you’re on EuroVelo6, or otherwise with a bike. You won’t be disappointed!
Ivanka and Pretrag were incredibly gracious hosts, and provided lots of tips about cycling in Serbia, with detailed maps. Leaving this morning, my faith in humanity was totally rejuvenated. Thank you!
The plan today was to avoid EuroVelo6 and make straight for Novi Sad on the 111 trunk road. This would save me 40km or so, and help ensure my early arrival in Belgrade.
The journey started well: good road surface with enough ‘hard shoulder’ to make a little space between bike and traffic. Weather was hot and humid, but I’ve adapted rather well, as long as a plentiful water intake is maintained. Scenery was dominated by vast cornfields, not much to look at, and anyway my mind and my eyes were focused on other matters.
Things started to get hairy after Odžaci. The road became narrower and it seemed that every juggernaut truck in Serbia was on it. While most drivers would give wide berth, other were complete arseholes, and that goes double for the truck drivers.
I was purposefully run off the road on a couple of occasions, and other times I just veered into the grassy verge as a precaution. With no police or speed cameras, most drivers passed at ridiculous speeds, and ‘playing chicken’ while overtaking is a common sport .Even when coming from the opposite direction, the draughts were powerful enough to cause a wobble. When passing from the same direction, some trucks were so close that I felt myself being pulled along. Dangerous stuff. I can’t recommend this road unless you have your wits and focus about you.
On top of this were the dogs. I had been warned that dogs have attacked cyclists in Serbia, and this proved to be true. There were quite a few lost-looking, pitiful pooches sitting by the roadside, and the odd one felt the need to chase. I outran some, but later resorted to spraying them with my water bottle, which was an effective deterrent.
So I was really happy to arrive in Novi Sad, which smelled of burning rubber until I got to the rather pleasant centre, by now in the rain.
Covered in diesel particles, road dust and pesticide spray residues, I got a room to myself in the Downtown Hostel, where I spent several hours having a great chin-wag with Ivana and Peter at the desk. Conversation flowed over coffee and rolled cigarettes. Serbs generally have an interesting outlook and, like the Irish, treat storytelling as a blood-sport. I pottered around the corner for food and a really strong beer before floating back to my room.
Back on EuroVelo6 to Belgrade tomorrow, maybe. My friends Dusan and Dragana are driving up from their home in Kragujevac to meet me for lunch at an as-yet unspecified location. Really looking forward to seeing them again. Who knows, maybe Belgrade will have to wait!