robi

so, anybody have any experience riding along these wonderful rivers in the above coutnries?

I am really interested in the Serb section upto the confluence with the Danube and then to points beyond.

I was just in Serbia visiting friends and really want to go there by bike next time!

Robi

lechatmort

I stay here with my cousins nearly every year: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba%C4%8Dko_Petrovo_Selo
No bike paths, awful roads would sum it up I think. People are friendly as everywhere I guess (lots of poverty and corruption though)

also heh, i just visited my family in serbia by bike, went really well having never done such a thing before

fietsbob

Danube, Passau to Vienna is a casual cruise , with well served tourist accommodations all along,
as it is very popular, ferry back up stream is always possible , so loop from Passau is practical..
Czechs and Sovaks have a bike rout laid out following the border a similar distance
https://www.pragueviennagreenways.org/gwmap.html

robi

I know all bout the bits north/west of Hungary! They are well documented and lots of Hungarians go there...

It is the East and south bits I want to do because, as lechamort put is, the ppl are friendly, etc. I have hitched through Yugoslavia all the way to and beyond Istanbul, Turkey and back... so I know there are great ppl in Serbia... I just wanted to know aobut the cycling there.

I do not mind not having dedicate bike paths.. in fact I like small, local roads that are not full of international traffic.... locals doing their dialy routine, fun to stop and ask for water/directions, where the best local swimming hole is, etc... chatting for a bit, then off to see more....

robi

robi

lechatmor... btw, do your cousins make fun of banat? When I was swimming in the Tisza not far from Backo we took a ride over to Banat County and my Serbian friends had a good time laughing at things there... they, of course, were not serious, just poking fun at the Banat and the ppl I met in the Banat told me not to go back to Backa because, well it is not s good as Banat....

robi

lechatmort

haha I wouldn't know actually, they never tried to prevent us from taking the ferry to the Other Side... When I'm in Serbia I spend more time in szabadka with my grandmother though.

robi

Oh, you said Szabadka instead of Subotica... Te magyar vagy?

When you going to be there next?

Go to Karloca, where the peace treaty was signed between the Austro-Hungarians and the Ottomans. There is a cool little round church built where the signing took place. Once you have gone there and seen that, great views of the valley/Danube, etc up the street 100 meters or so is the home of Mr. Kis . He makes Bermet wine, this stuff is considered a medicine, basically wine flavored with 15 or 20 herbs and spices.

Why am i telling you all this? Because it would be a great 2 day tour. Szabadka - Backo - Karloca (sg like 8 or 10 km from Novi Sad, or in Hungarian Uj Videk.

There is a great burek place in Szabadka, btw! I will find out the address and let you know.

robi

Kip

I was in Austria, Slovakia and Hungary earlier this summer and though I wasn't touring by bicycle I did get out on a half-dozen day trips. One day I followed EuroVelo 6 also known as the Rivers Route about 50 kilometers from Budapest along the Danube to Sezentendre, Hungary. For most of the distance the bike path was wonderful but there were a few places where it changed from paved path to dirt trail in a couple kms. Also, the signage wasn't always clear about which direction to go to pick up the next section. Admittedly, my experience was minimal; I look forward to returning and exploring this area further.

robi

That EuroVelo 6 in Hungary surely sucks as far as singage and surface for vast sections. I just did an 80 km ride with my 13 year old son. a long section of our ride was along route WV 6. From szob to where it crosses to the other side of the Danube.

Until they get the paths ready I would never, ever ride that section on the other side... hevy, heavy traffic, next to nil shoulder on the road....

Then you end up where Kip was and go from paved road to dirt to routing through residential neighborhoods with really poor signage.

robi

Kip

Robi, thanks. It's interesting to hear of other's experiences on EuroVela 6. Before I plan on a more extensive ride along this route I'll post a general query about it.

robi

Kip. I only have experience on the sections north of Bp. But I can give you detailed route into on it when you need.

Robi

lechatmort

yes I'm half hungarian indeed
thanks for the tip, i might do it next year when we're on family visit again... for now I'll just do weekend couchsurfing trips to cities near belgium

(and yes eurovelo 6 was awful, I quickly lost the route when I entered hungary and just went on the main road. I came accross the route again somewhere around komárom and it was just a dirt road full of potholes, was really happy that I hadn't tried following it)

robi

yeap, there are tons of sections where the signs just aren't there, or they lead you onto a main road, heavy traffic, no shoulder.

when the dedicated bike lanes are finally built it will be nice, but until then, it can be down right scary in places.


I may do a section of the Tisza in Hungary soon, not much but i will write up a report on it....

Robi

lechatmort

I didn't think the main roads were scary actually, but I'm used to riding in traffic.
I'm definitely opposed to completely separated bike lanes, the ones that were there were awful. Very bumpy and actually rather dangerous, because they switched sides all the time or disappeared without notice, and you lost your right of way when crossing another road. I've never seen something as stupid as that, and sometimes they frustrated me so much that I just went on the road instead...

robi

I am one hundred percent convinced that the folks designing Hungarian bike paths do not actually cycle! They are often placed in poor locations, end abruptly, and cross to the other side of the road for no reason!

The Velo 6 above szentendre is horrid. From Szob the first few km are on teh main road south out of town, then there is a dedicated path, that is actually quite nice for comfortable riding, not right for training for races, but for riding along the Danube and crusing along at a nice comfortable pace, it is great for a long section but in Vac I think it was, the route crosses back over the Danube by ferry, so you have to pay and you have to wait.... The other side is sg like 50 km to Bp and aobut 25 are on a very busy road...

If you stay on the Szob side, somehwere in the town of Göd it starts going into residential neighborhoods and is hard to follow if you look for the signs, but luckily somebody has painted little bicycles on the street surface at all the turns. Then you hit Dunakeszi and are eventually left on the main road for sg like 8 or 9 km, buses, trucks, cars zipping by, no real shoulder. Then, once in Budapest proper you get the bike paths, which, again are great as far as safety goes, most of this section is quite nicely surfaced .....

robi