Safe Return Doubtful

49 miles (79 km) – Total so far: 145 miles (233 km)

Away just after 8 on a morning already in the 20s. Zajecar was a good overnight visit, with decent food in the hotel restaurant and a couple of local dark beers.

Onwards on the Iron Curtain Trail and after 10 km or so there was a 250 metre climb, steep at the start and at the end, and certainly best done in the morning in this heat.
This is a shady spot in the village of Viliki Izvor.

We needed a break after a couple of hours and in the midst of a downhill I spotted an open cafe. No sooner had I stopped than I was ushered over to join these guys, well into their Saturday session at 10 am. They were great fun, and with broken communication insisted that they bought us the drinks we had.
A highlight of the day.

There had been just over 500 metres of climbing up until now. We had started at 120 metres above sea level, climbed 250 metres early this morning, then several ups and downs before descending into the Danube basin.
But we had a nasty surprise here in the now mid-30s heat of the day. The trail turned off onto a smaller and rougher road headed to Mokranje and it’s cliffs. Despite the heat this was great riding, the village nestled into spectacular cliffs, and to get away, a 120 metre climb. Great fun, if not a little on the warm side.