Day 14: Hills and a Cup of Mint Tea

Day 14: Hills, Strangers, and a Cup of Mint Tea for Teri

Belgrade surroundings → Aleksinac | 175 km

New day, new chances. But also the day we said goodbye to Teri, from a long way away.
Consta, Reese, or Atlas, whatever we are calling the bikes this week, slept well in the garage below the apartment, fully charged and ready. So did we, which after day 13 felt like a minor miracle. We needed it.

Serbia delivered something unexpected today: beauty. Proper rolling hills, wide views, the kind of scenery that reminds you why you do something like this on a bike rather than in a car. It felt like the Ardennes, but quieter, and with better coffee surprises waiting around the corners.
In one small village we stopped at a café where a group of older men were doing what older men in small Serbian villages apparently do on a Thursday morning: sitting on the porch, drinking coffee, putting the world right. No English, no Dutch, no common language whatsoever.

What followed was twenty minutes of hand gestures, Google Translate held up to faces, and a conversation that somehow covered football, coffee, and careers. One had been a football coach. One had been a professor. The third remains a mystery, and honestly that feels right. The professor insisted on paying for our coffees and would not hear otherwise. Extraordinary hospitality from people we will probably never see again and will not forget. ☕

While we were riding the hills of Serbia, back in the Netherlands the farewell ceremony for Teri was taking place. We were sad to be so far away. We kept pedalling, because that is what this trip is for, and because Teri would have understood that better than most. Tonight we made mint tea, a small and quiet way to feel a little less far away. Our thoughts are with her family, her friends, and every colleague who will feel her absence in the weeks and months ahead. 🌿

One hundred and seventy five kilometres later we pulled into a hotel in Aleksinac that looked familiar, because it was: we had seen it in another Istanbul cyclist's Instagram post. The host Ourosh remembered that cyclist too. That is when you know you are in the right place. Some hotels are just coordinates. This one felt like a waypoint on a longer story. 🏨

Donations are still coming in and every single one matters. The link is in our profile.
842 km left on the route. 69% done. Bulgaria potentially tomorrow.
Sleep well. 🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️Read more