so "Always look on the bike side of life" !!!
Short cuts have been a speciality of mine, so time to look into that! Why yes, there looks like a track leading parallel with the main road, although it might peter out by the look of the dotted line, but we shall see!
So after zinking into the local supermarket to stock up my food supply and water (yes I have been buying water!) then I turned back off the main road and rode for a coupla kms thru the back streets of Banovic Dunav, passing neat - but needing a paint - houses, with heaps of beautiful roses blooming in sparse gardens. eventually the street ended and to the right was the highway or left was just a dirt track - well, lets see how far this one goes. Soon we were bumping along between drying crops of corn as usual and apple orchards with farmers are out there picking these and getting them into boxes for sale. Then a tiny snippet of sealed road - that's right, there's a hotel down on the river bank - and then back on the farm track. recently some of these corn stubble paddocks have been burnt - that might explain some of the air pollution... There was a couple in a car talking to a man sitting in the shade of his tractor. so we stopped for a quick chat. The young guy could speak a little English, surprised that I was solo and they just smiled and shook their heads.
So my biggest fear has been being attacked by wild dogs... well, today this happened but I survived. Just before re-entering the real world, I rode past yet another rubbish dump and a couple of dogs came out and barked half-heartedly and I was cool with that... but then I heard a more serious barking and I knew there was a cranky dog there... I didn't try and ride faster and I just hoped it would get sick of chasing me... Thankfully ahead, there were a couple of guys herding goats, and one came back and yelled at the dogs... Now, did they belong to him... maybe that was a gypsy camp... anyways I survived and have now seen the clip and I am glad I don't have eyes in the back of my head!!!
so to Belgrade and out again as fast as possible... which wasn't very fast. What a Tip!!! The air was blue and choking. Sure there were some wonderful cycle paths along the bank of the Danube. There were heaps of floating restaurants and clubs so its easily seen what sort of tourist is welcome here... Now true! I haven't been into the centre, so just skimmed the edge, but what a mess... the garbage collection must be minimal, there is new and old rubbish scattered and stacked everywhere. Footpaths are cluttered with parked cars, in some places, people have to walk onto the road to get past! No Comment!!!
Has it been cold? nah.... I seem to bring the sun with me - 27C today - 28 expected tomorrow!!! so stopped for an ice-cream at a servo before crossing the bridge. So 3 guys employed there to fill the cars, noticed one strolling out to a car, unwrapping a lolly and he just flicked the paper onto the ground... says it all...
So back over the Danube again - already once today - and had been warned that the track up to the bridge was a bit dicey! well, if you call a single track in the dirt behind the steel barrier leading up to the bridge 'a bit dicey' then you'll agree! once on the edge of the bridge, there was about a 30cm step up onto the bridge foot path... planners are obviously in short supply here... As I had been pushing Hennie along the track, I saw a cyclist riding on the road - no helmet of course - brave or silly I thought... decided silly! its 2 lane and a bus came hooning up behind him just as he reached the footpath bit... the bus tried to change lanes, but the other drivers weren't having any of that! cyclist tried to bunny hop up onto foot path! fell of course, bike spun onto the road, but luckily the bus managed to stop and he limped back and hauled his bike out of the way, kicked it a bit, back on again and on his way!!! yep! silly! so that's the traffic story for the today!! there might have been a taxi strike back in the city that had blocked a full 3 lane street, with blue flashing lights and a van of cops unloading, as I rode past... or it could have been an accident... but traffic was backed up and horns blaring non-stop! Belgrade... do I really want to come back to catch my flight home?
so back to bike life... well on other side of bridge was escape country!! eventually found the path that led to the flood dyke path, and after crossing one two-plank bridge over a smelly drain, then back again, then over another cement bridge we were eventually bumping along the dirt track on top of the dyke... ahhh! heaven... at last I can see autumn colouring the trees, hear birds chirping, seeing the odd farm cow or horse tethered to a rope while they munched happily on the grass on the verge.
There was a huge flock of swans in the distance - they had settled onto a small lake amongst the trees in the distance - mute swans, so noise to be heard! Oops! was that a small snake I had just ridden over! jeepers!! had forgotten to look out for them - anyways, it had motored off when I turned back! hope it just has a belly ache for a couple of days. It was green and yellow pattern, just for the brief moment that I saw it - about 60cm I guess...
I managed to get in Pancevo and I had booked another of these apartments - like AirBnB but thru booking.com - and as usual, there's no-one at home and my phone not working again... I knocked on a door and a young guy - who spoke good English, came out and didn't really know what apartment it was... but I was at the right building. I asked if he could call the number - it was engaged... so we chatted a bit and then he tried again and got onto the guy who was on his way around... sigh... so we chatted some more... He was Serbian, but when he was 3 they went to live on Cypress - smart move as I reckon it was a good time to be away from Serbian. So he spoke Serbian, Greek, German and English.... sigh... I only speak English! We laughed together about the Hungarian language, but its one he is not going to try and learn!!!
so I am in this old style apartment - not very flash, but has everything needed, even tho in a slightly different way than I am used to...
I was so tired last night, that I haven't sorted thru the photos - so will post my rant now and will get onto it tonight... I am booked into a B&B tonight - a lot more expensive than the $30 - a whole $80!! and its not too far away and most of it is on the flood dyke! so am looking forward to today's ride... getting further away from a major city is always my objective!!! :)
pesky dogs!!
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