Day 66 - Niš to Pirot

 75.4 km - Total so far 3,636.30 km - Route pedalled.      Relive Video (with pictures)

Video of the day: Europe Day 66                        837 Left to pedal

We are safe and secure in Pirot, Serbia.

We left Niš at about 8:30 am and it was fairly easy as there was little traffic.

The route took us through a small village near Niš, where folks pile their cords of wood right on the road. From there we were onto a gravel road that followed the ridge line. The scenery was very nice.

A bit later, we found ourselves on another gravel road with many homes on either the side of the road. We think those were summer homes because today is Saturday and most parking spaces were empty. It was cool riding in the shade but some parts were pretty physically demanding.

Wood pile in front of house

Summer homes by the river

We got back on a paved road that followed the river. It was nice and flat and easy to make good speed. It was a river gorge with a lot of rock faces. This road is known as the tunnel road, for the 13 tunnels that you have to travel through. We had a similar experience riding through snow tunnels and sheds in BC. The longer tunnels are very dark and sharing one with a large truck is not pleasant.

Tunnel #2

I was psyching myself for the climb after lunch. Our riding application mapped out a relatively long but smooth climb to the top. It was not so smooth. I walked 2/3 of the 11 km to the top. Hélène waited for me quite a bit. Once you get over the top, you get a fast 5 km descent to a pack of dogs waiting for you at the gravel quarry. Hélène’s 115 db whistle stopped them dead in their tracks. By the time I rode by, they had forgotten what they had planned on doing. From there getting to Pirot was pretty much downhill again. 

What struck us today was the breath taking scenery. In Pirot, we are in a valley surrounded by mountains.

Our apartment is nicely situated near the town centre in an ugly building. The buttons in the elevators are odd in one elevator and even in the other. To get to our apartment we have to press 5th floor, get off the elevator, walk in the open to the other side of the building and walk down a twisty staircase to level 4.

Our building, red arrow points to our unit

View from level 5, apartment is just below

Hélène’s video will show the tunnels and ReLive will show the elevation gain for today.

Tonight is our last night in Serbia as tomorrow we cross the border into Bulgaria.