Belgrade-Smederevo by bus
Getting out of Belgrade
60 miles (97 km)
Total so far: 60 miles (97 km)
Introduction
A little explanation is needed. We have been cycling in Europe since May 1, 2014. We started in Greece and cycled the Ionian Islands to Albania. After Albania, we cycled the Islands of Croatia from Dubrovnik to Split. Then we took a bus to Belgrade, Serbia. The plan is to bicycle from Belgrade via EuroVelo 6 through the famous Danube Gorge to the Iron Gates at Kladovo. Then, we will take a train to Budapest and cycle the best parts of EuroVelo 6 to St Nazaire, France.
Europe is bicycle friendly in providing massive networks of bicycle specific paths, and long distance routes. There are 14 long distance trails currently recognized. They are called EuroVelo Routes.
EuroVelo-Routes
From Serbia, we will be following parts of EuroVelo 6 to France and the Atlantic Ocean. We are doing the route backwards. Most cyclists start in France and finish at the Black Sea. Of course, many more cyclists ride portions of the route, not the entire distance.
Equipment: We are taking camping equipment with us, but planning on staying in local lodging until the prices get too high. So far, lodging has been very reasonable. We are carrying a 12 inch computer, a voice recorder, a GPS, a smart phone. We are not using the smart phone as a telephone so much as using it for Internet access. So far we have found Internet and enough cafés and lodging places that we have not needed to purchase a Sim card for our phone. We are using the Nexus 5 phone as our camera as well as a Go Pro camera. We used to carry a full SLR with expensive lens, but now that we’re posting so much on the web, we decided we could do with a smaller camera that weighed less. We will see. Mike is carrying 2 Ortlieb waterproof panniers on his bike and pulling a fully loaded Bob’s Trailer. I am carrying 2 Ortlieb waterproof panniers and a rear rack waterproof box that holds the electronics. We each have one pannier for our clothes. The pannier number three has the computer along with our passports, money and other important materials. The fourth pannier has the tool bag and serves as a lunch bag when we need to carry food for longer distances. It also carries Anne’s supply of emphysema medicine as she travels. The medicine is very heavy, so we ship it ahead and carry with us only what we feel we need until we get to the next area.
Bicycles: Anne is riding an E2 folding trike. This is a new trike built in America that is currently in production. She is riding a prototype model as the company is producing the production models this summer. The trike folds into a very small package. It is wonderful for taking on buses, in the back of trucks, in the back of an SUV, and of course on airplanes. It folds small enough that it does not get the airplane charge that normally is associated with a full-size bicycle. You can see this trike and the progress in its production by visiting Edgerecumbents.com.
Anne’s E2Trike
This is the E2 trike fully folded. No parts have been removed! There is nothing to detach.
Mike’s REI Novara Safari
About Us
This is not our first cycle tour. We started in 1984 and cycled from Costa Rica to Peru. We have since cycled in Southeast Asia, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and of course the USA. Read our profile on this site for more information.
Anne has emphysema that is associated with genetic inherited disorder. She has never smoked in her life. But the emphysema acts the same as someone who smoked several packs of cigarettes a day. She has lost 30% of her lung capacity before the disorder was discovered and abated with infusion therapy. She takes a medicine once every week intravenously that protects her lungs from further deterioration. The disorder is called Alpha 1 anti-trypsin. Her goal is to make people aware of the disorder. People with asthma and other breathing difficulties are often not aware that they may be suffering from alpha-1.
Anne took all her meds with her and mailed them ahead from point to point.
Day 1 We have been in Belgrade for several days. There is a wonderful network of cycling trails that follow the Danube and the Sava Rivers. After two months of more than rigorous and challenging steep grades in Greece and Croatia, we have been enjoying these wonderful, FLAT cycle paths made just for cyclists.
Belgrade has a network of bike specific trails. We enjoyed the routes along the Sava River.
It was during this time, that we did more research on the Danube Bike Trail and how to get out of Belgrade safely and happily. Although the cycle paths are a wonderful network, they do not get cyclists past the heavy traffic to the north or south. Bicycling Belgrade-Smederevo, according to several blogs, is a white knuckle experience.
We have the Bikeline Guide books. The route they show to leave Belgrade is a clogged city street heavy with cars and trucks. There is a long bridge with no safe lane for bicycles that needs to be crossed. Once you get across the Danube, things improve, but we were unable to even contemplate crossing that bridge with a trike.
Yellow represents heavy traffic right through the very center of Belgrade. Blue is the dedicated bike path.
Belgrade-North Route
Bikeline suggests taking the train to Ralja or to Mala Krsna,Serbia, both of which are just beyond Smederevo, Serbia. Other cyclists had made the comment that the service was a hassle, there were trains to another Ralja, the trains didn’t want to load the bikes etc.
We do think the train is more effort than the bus, and there is another Ralja. Lasta bus lines is a convenient way to get out of Belgrade past all the traffic. They have numerous daily buses that go from the main bus station (be sure to take Lasta; they are bike friendly), to Smederevo. The trip is 1.5 hours and sets you up for a great start of your tour.
We left Belgrade on the 1:30 bus to Smederevo, Serbia. The driver didn’t even blink at our two bikes. Anne did fold hers just so we would be sure they wouldn’t have any issues with the bikes and Mike took off his front wheel, but we didn’t need to. They charged two dollars for the two bikes together and the luggage. That’s the cheapest we’ve ever paid for carrying the luggage and the bikes on a bus.
Taking the Lasta bus out of Belgrade saves nerves and energy.
The usual fiasco begins after you get to a new town and you have to find your hotel. Few people speak English in these small Serbian towns. Very few people, even in Belgrade, speak English. We had booked a hotel in advance because we didn’t want to deal with looking around for one when we got here. But, where was it? A map does little good when all the road signs are in Cyrillic lettering. So we just started asking people if they spoke English, if they could tell us where the Car Hotel was.
Bicycling Serbia_Belgrade -Cyrillic writing
can’t find the Car Hotel
Finally, a taxi driver knew where the hotel was so he led us through the maze of streets until we were on the correct street and we had a kilometer to go. Of course it was a 7% climb all the way from the bus station to the hotel. But the Car Hotel is a very nice three star hotel with very clean rooms; they serve breakfast and they have a restaurant so we didn’t have to go out to find a place to eat. The hotel cost $34 a night for the two of us. That’s the cheapest we’ve paid in a long time. We had a delicious meal of roast beef and potatoes in a wonderful juice.
Bicycling Serbia-Smederevo- Car Hotel
Bicycling Serbia-CarHotelRoom
Tomorrow we set off on a new adventure.
