Day 11 - The Tour de Osijek (Tuesday 23rd April 2024)

Nearby Qsijek is an environmentally significant wetland in the Kopački Rit Nature Park just near the village of Kopačevo, about 11kms away. A good proportion of the crew decided to take up the option of cycling to the wetlands and them taking a boat ride thereupon. Ivana organised the bicycles from a local bike shop and he arrived with them at about 10:00am. A short familiarisation ride up and down the street saw a couple the member of the peleton abandon before the we got started. Kerry and Rob from Cornwall were amongst them. Kerry has never been very comfortable on a bike so she decided not to risk an untimely incident out in the wilds of Slovania – the district in which Osijek is the “capital”. Rob had not been on a bike for more than 35 years so with sentiments similar to Kerry’s abandoned also. Nevertheless, that still left a good sized peleton of Ivana, Michelle, Samantha, Guido, Janice and moi. Polly and Dennis were also intending to join the peleton but Dennis suffered a mechanical before today’s Stage even started. The team mechanic couldn’t fix the problem on the spot so back to the garage they went, intending to quickly catch up lost ground and time and rejoin the peleton before we reached the wetlands.

The starter dropped his flag and off we went. It was hard going at first, riding on the pancake-flat roads of Osijek until we got to the bike path. Here I reckon the path had a slight rise in it (probably 100mm/1000m) and we were definitely riding into a head wind. For the first few kilometres my knees were fiercely reminding me that bicycle riding was not their thing. I stopped halfway along the bike path to deal with my own mechanical - my chain had come off after stuffing around with my gears too much. I fixed that without the need of a mechanic and soon joined the rest of the peleton as they reached the outskirts of the village of Bilje.

Off the bike path and onto the streets of Bilje we went. The crowds weren’t there to cheers us on so just unobtrusively made our way through to the other side of town. Here we turned right down a long straight country lane, our rapid progress only being slowed by an elderly gentleman and his wife out for a drive in the two white horse-power cart. They headed on through the village of Kopačevo and we swung left arriving shortly afterwards at the Nature Park. Stage 1 distance – 11.8kms.

 

After a quick coffee in a very smoky little cafe (smoking indoors in public places is not permitted in Croatia) we bought a ticker for the boat ride on the wetlands (EUR12.00) and proceeded to the dock via a series of elevated wooden walkways and stone paths through the wetlands in the immediate vicinity. With their mechanical problems resolved and in spite of a geographic communication breakdown, Polly and Dennis joined as just as the boat was about to launch. During the 60 minute boat ride we were entertained and educated by a very knowledgeable young chap who clearly knows his stuff about his backyard. The highlights of the trip were the observation of the quite common white-tailed eagle, a swan on her nest, a few tortoises here and there and a pat from a very excitable young something-oodle onboard the boat. After the boat docked we walked back to the kiosk where we’d left our bikes. Stage 2 of the Tour de Osijek took a slightly different route through the village of Kopačevo and then on through Bilje and back to the bike path. Being just a domestique in Team Intrepid, I slowed down and let the peleton get away, to help Polly ride back to the group. She’d stopped for a few photos so had fallen quite some way behind, placing herself at great risk of not finishing in the allotted time and consequently being eliminated from the peleton by the Commissars.

 

The first and only feeding station was at a little local restaurant next to the Drava river on the edge of Osijek. I had roast pork neck which was as tough as old riding shoes. But the wine was good. From here we all went our separate ways. Some hadn’t ridden enough after 25kms and wanted more. Guido and I headed straight back to the team bus (hotel) to rest our weary legs. Upon arrival Kerry was no where to be seen so I waited outside our room. Eventually she appeared tired and bedraggled. On the boat Polly had let me know that Kerry had “gone walking”. Great, I thought, no doubt exploring the town a little more with those who didn’t join the Tour de Osijek. Wrong! Kerry and Rob had tagged along with Charlotte and Elaine to find out too late that it was their intention to walk to the wetlands! A 25km ride was enough of an effort for me bit a 25kms walk is nothing short of Herculean. Needless to say both Kerry and Rob were exhausted and quite sore when they returned to the hotel. The four of us found a nearby pub, had a couple of drinks and a light meal and then headed home to bed.

Janine, I did not know that Osijek is the birthplace of that great Aussie tennis player Jelena Dokic! Thanks for the tip.