From Batina to Novi Sad

Sunday, 6th of November 2011

We could not fix the spokes in Batina. Neither could the men in the car- and bike´s-shop in Beli Manastir. The spokes that broke where the hardest to reach, just next to the gears. But they offered us a “new” rosty wheel made in Yugoslavia built for eternity and kept the old wheel. It is heavier than the old one but seems very stabile. Again we said goodbye and left. This time we made it further. When it got dark we where in Sombor, Serbia, only 37 kilometers further but we made it all the way there. We camped by a small river and I missed the cozy oven. Though we where forced to sleep before 6 pm (sun sets by 5 pm) I could not wait to finally have warm sun and daylight.

At 7 am we left. As always in the morning we checked the bikes: no punctures so far! We decided to not follow the Eurovelo 6 to Novi Sad (would have been about 200 km) but choose our own way that was half as long. It was a boring day. Cold, fog and fields everywhere. We cycled on a rural road and every now and then passed some villages where we stopped to eat something, fill our water-bottles or check the map. At noon the fog went back and we already made 50 kilometers. The way was spread with dead cats, dogs, rats and squirrels we tried to avoid as long as there was no hard traffic. Sometimes the cars on the other lane passed ignoring us. So we had to jump into the roadside to save us. The last 20 kilometers I cycled without jacket.

Arriving in Novi Sad we met with Anna who offered us a bed in www.warmshowers.org, a hospitality organization for touring cyclers. Arriving I checked the speedometer: 102,85 kilometers in one day!

The next morning we went out to see the city. Though I washed all my clothes there was no sweater or trousers left I could wear on that day. So I dressed in hiking shoes with a summer dress and broken nylon pantyhose. Remember: never wash all your clothes at the same time if you want to leave the house in dry clothes.

Novi Sad is beautiful. And it has so good food to offer. We found a stand that appeared a little bit like those in Mexico, where they sold meat in a Tortilla-like bread and we could choose all the vegetables and salsas we liked.

We will leave Novi Sad on Tuesday morning, it is another 103 kilometers to go to Belgrad.