Two days in Serbia.

While the scenery in Serbia left something to be desired I did meet some very friendly folks that made the visit well worth the effort.

On my second day in Serbia after sleeping in another town park, though I put in a lot more effort to remain hidden in his park, I headed east and into another stretch of farm fields. The wind was at my back as it has been for the past several days. As I approached the main square in the next town a man in his 50s ran over to say hello. He was excited enough to meet me that he ran to the magazine stand nearby and bought me a pen and pack of gum. He didn't speak much English but introduced himself as Tabor then invited me to walk home with him and his mother. Once there I was able to wash my cloths and take a shower before they made a lunch of baked eggs, lettuce, soup and sausages. I spent about 5 hours there not understanding much of what was being said to me. On my way out Tabor joined me on his rusty single speed to bike 5 miles to the next town in the 85 degree sun.

In the last town before crossing into Romania I stopped to fill my water and met Alexander. He and his wife were getting a burger and inviting me home to stay in their spare room for the night. Alexander is originally from Germany, a gypsy and living here with his grandfather for the time being. He spoke English fairly well so he was able to give me some insight into Serbia. He told me that a typical wage is €1.50 per hour if you could even find work, which was difficult. He said the police are corrupt and that sleeping in the woods is bad idea.

Serbia was obviously very poor, but the food was very cheap and the people I met were very friendly. If sleeping the woods is a bad idea then I best be going.

Cruising through Croatia

Entering Croatia put me right into the hills. Hills so steep that on more than one occasion I had to get off and push. Bikes are such an efficient way to travel but at around 13% grade it becomes not only easier but also faster to just get off and push. The hills did not last long though. By the end of my first day in Croatia they were flattening out. And on my third and forth day here I could not see a hill all the way to the horizon.

So I had entered farm country. It seems that many of he households keep a rather large garden, but I was going down roads with dozens of tractors and large tracts of land ready to be planted too. The towns I went through contained only the street I was on. The houses were small and generally made of brick. Many were in poor condition. It was obvious, on the roads I followed at least, that Croatia is the poorest country I've been through. It seems by the stares I get not many cycle tourists visit the area. I might be the first one towing a third wheel, which gets nods of approval from time to time. Many people in the single street towns sit on benches in front of their homes and watch the traffic. So when I go by I get a lot of attention.

Other things to see included fields of yellow flowers which I could not figure out what they were growing, tiny churches, one castle and a lot of statues of Jesus on a cross. The camping was good too. On two occasions I just camped right in the town park and no one seemed to mind, though the mosquitoes have been getting worse.

Beautiful Slovenia

I've made it through Slovenia. On my way out I was told that I entered illegally because no one had stamped my passport but where I entered, on a highway, their was no one to stamp my passport. They thought it over for a minute then gave me the stamp and sent me on my way.

But while I was there I had excellent camping and scenic cycling and met some friendly people. The towns were all clean and the buildings were well maintained. The capital was as nice as any European city I went through and there were a lot of bike lanes. Even the weather was good on all but one day, though it took only 5 days to get through it.

A kind Slovenia woman made me breakfast one morning. It was close to 8 and I was just heading through a small town after sleeping in to wait for the rain to pass. She came running out and stopped me and offered me breakfast and a shower and a laundry machine even before I got off of my bike. Her granddaughter and friend came down to join me for breakfast. She had for me; eggs, bread, cake bread, tea, honey, sausage, pickles, pickled mushrooms. Everything was homemade except for the lemon for the tea. I stayed there until 2 in the afternoon. I showered and washed my clothes. The granddaughter made a potato, turnip soup for lunch which was excellent and also took me for a walk to show me what flowers she picked to make the tea. When I did leave they sent me away with the rest of the cake bread and 2 pounds of cured sausages.

Slovenia was great. I only wish it were bigger so I could spend more time there.

Katie exits stage west.

If you were following the spot locations in the past week I'll explain. Katie and I biked to Santa Margahreta, then took a train down to the Cinco Terre area where we spent a couple of days, mostly traveling on the trains. Then we took a train back to Genoa where we boxed up Katie's bike and spent a couple more days. Finally we took a train to Ventimiglia. The next morning Katie went to Nice to fly home and I took the train back to Santa Margahreta then biked a little ways into the mountains.

The trains, by the way, are difficult and confusing. The stations are not signed very well and there is no announcement to tell you where you are at. We missed one stop because of this. The trains themselves are not identified either so it is difficult to tell what train you are getting good on, once on the train people run to the door asking what train you are on and where it is going. The train staff like to hide out during this time to avoid any questions. Some trains allow bikes and some don't, it is not made clear when purchasing a ticket which is which. Some of the trains that allow bikes don't actually have a place for them so they are left at the car entrance and in the way. The worst part is that once you buy a ticket you must go to a different machine to verify it. At some stations this is not made clear by any person or sign. Once on the train some conductors will not care if you stamped your ticket and not explain that you have to, other conductors will give you a €50 fine on a €2 ticket, even though you are obviously a tourist that doesn't know what verifying a ticket even means! Lastly, no where is the train system handicap accessible. Making it difficult for bikes too. Getting to the train requires 2 flights of stairs at every station and then the platforms are always a foot or more below the train door.

So Katie has gone home and I have gone on. She taught me many things on this trip. How to tie your shoe better, which gelato is the best, vegetables can be part of a bike trip diet too, always have a dessert packed in your food bag, a better knot to tie my hammock with, that it can be easy to sit out the rain, that it's easier to stay warm than get warm, why dolphins are so great, that the wine store will open the bottle for you. The list goes on and on.

I'd also like to comment on what Katie had to endure to join me on this trip. First off, we went on her longest ride ever just a couple of weeks before the trip started, it was 30 miles. I think it was our first week that we did out first metric century ride, 62 miles. In total she biked 1600 miles and climbed 100,000 feet over 58 days. This included a lot of time in the rain, while biking and while camping. All in a rain coat that was not up to the task, mostly without rain pants and shoe cover that were just plastic bags. I can count the number of times we washed our only clothes on one hand. She biked through muddy farm fields, down highways, over windy mountains and down flooded streets. When looking for a hotel we would often arrive to town tired and in the rain and then bike around in expanding circles until we found a place. When wild camping she was left to worry about strangers or wild pigs attacking us in the night while I slept comfortably (I always sleep comfortably). Probably the hardest part is that she had to put up with me, all day, every day for 58 straight days.

Her good company spoiled me. She is already being missed.

The view from Italy

Lets start with the taste of Italy. We had a slow start getting good food but have found that focaccia is the way to go. Also checked off the list is gelato, lasagna, rabbit, gnocchi, tiramasu and pizza. A lot of pizza. Out of all the food eaten on this trip so far I would say that only the French pastries and rabbit have surpassed what is readily available back home in Boulder.

Though we have been traveling as close to the coast as possible the mountains are unavoidable, except by tunneling through them. Which fortunately for me the Italians love tunnels. We've passed through a few everyday. Looking away from the water I can often see snow on the he distant peaks. The mountains have made camping a little difficult though we have found nice camp grounds as well. We have camped with wild pigs on 3 occasions now. They seem to just want to get muddy and root around in the dirt though listening to them around you while you lay in a hammock is a little unsettling.

Right away when I got to Italy I noticed the towns having more color than French towns. Many of the towns seem to favor easter colors throughout. This was especially true in the small secluded tourist towns collectively called Cinque Terre. These are 5 towns built in steep valleys on the coast. Each about a mile from the other. The towns are closed to cars, you can drive up to town but not into them, but the train runs between them and this was how we traveled. A rather confusing system that required me to hike my bike up and down a too many flights of stairs over the couple of days we were there.

I've also discovered the miniature effect on my camera so you can look forward to full size things looking oddly small (or not).