Day 34: Belgrad

Well, let's start before Belgrad. I actually did not want to visit Belgrad, but then the routing around Belgrad consisted of many big roads and the EuroVelo 6 looked like it might be a nice route mainly in parks and along the Danube.

When I started in Pantschowa the first part of the EuroVelo looked like this (you can see the EuroVelo sign in the background):

I think in german we call this a "Sollbruchstelle" ;) I slowly continued crawling along the way since sometimes the dangerous parts are hard to see. At times I had to get out and lift/push/pull my velomobile accross the worst parts. At some point I finally got onto a "real" road and things got better and faster. I had already decided not to follow the EuroVelo part on the embankment and stay on the road until it becomes a motorway. At that point the cycling path looks like this:

This is what velomobiles are build for. But it is only 9 km and then things will get better. Right?

Of course. This is the cycling path accross the Danube. Full of road debris and all I could think of was how on earth I could fix a flat tyre on a cycling path only as wide as my velomobile while cars rushed by on the street. Luckily nothing happened.

Also on this side there was a sign that said:

So using the main road is illegal, but just do it. But tolerated in this case means: Nobody cares, but if you have an accident it is your fault, since you weren't supposed to be there. Thanks a lot.

Once you have crossed you have reached the city and it gets better? What do you think ;) This is what the end of the bridge looks like:

As you might imagine when I arrived in Belgrad I was in a foul mood. EuroVelo is the most prestigious cycling network in Europe. But who will use it if the path quality is as erratic as this? The only target group for these paths can be suicidal masochists. We need some serious change in priorities in order to get people to bike and really do something against the climate change.

The first part through the city was no fun either. It only got better once I got to Belgrad Castle. Although even before could find some orientation when stopping at the park entrance a guard told be, that I wasn't allowed in the park with my bike (he did not speak any english but made it pretty clear I should go away with my bike).

So I cycled down to the Danube, had a coffee and a sandwich relaxing a bit. From there on the cycling path along the Danube was quite nice.   

Until I had to go accross a high bridge. At first I did not understand how I was supposed to get up there, until I saw the elevator. But again I couldn't even get near the lift before an elevator guard (is this even a real job?) told me not to even think about putting my velomobile in there. I don't think it would have fit anyways. But is Belgrad hiring people to guard its infrastructure against unsuspecting velomobilists?

Trying to find a way up was not all that easy, but finally I got accross the bridge and rolled down towards the next nice part of the cycling path along the Danube when a van when stopped fifty meters in front of me and four people got out waving at me to stop.

A bit confused I stopped and they told me they are a team from serbian state television and wanted to interview me. I said a few things about my journey and the velomobile and cycled a bit back and forth for them to film me. Of course after the interview many more things came to mind I should have said (more about my velomobile, seeing the world without a big CO2 footprint, why cycling makes cities better places etc.).

Let's see if they actually air something and send me the link to the video once it is online.

After the cycling path along the Danube ended I had to cycle many kilometers before traffic got less. This is always the same when leaving big cities: The roads are not very nice and there are no places to rest most of the time. I was happy once I was back on smaller roads.

I am now close to the croatian border. Tomorrow I will go west into Croatia before turning south to Bosnia.