The longest night – don't trust navigation apps

Location: Gazdare
Km on the clock: 2,791

I left Nis around noon and headed in direction south west. The weather conditions were good. It was another sunny but not too hot day and as always outside of the cities I followed the road signs or navigated with my paper maps. My Serbia paper map which I bought when I entered the country wasn't very detailed. It was rather a general overview which only showed the main roads of the country but it was the best map that I could find.

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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Nov 4, 2019 um 11:12 PST

I studied my map as I took a break in a village. It was a small and quiet place. Cars passed me only once in a while. While studying my maps, I realized, that I had no clue where I actually was and that this village wasn't on the map. And since there were no locals around, I couldn't ask anyone for directions. So, I decided to use my offline open street maps for the first time outside of the cities.

Approximate scribble of the route

I followed the directions that the app gave me and it was great. I went through scenic hilly landscapes and every now and then I came through smaller villages. The facades of many houses were in a rather poor condition and teenagers and young adult were hanging out in front of the very few stores.

Kids were waving at me and asking: 'Hellooo! Where are you from?' as I entered another village. I waved back and answered: 'Hellooo! Germanyyy' as I passed them. I stopped to check the navigation app when I reached a crossroad. My options were to continue straight ahead or turn left. Straight ahead was a solid paved road and the road to the left was a gravel road but seemed okay to cycle. The app suggested to turn left. This route would be even 10 kilometers shorter than the other one. I was hesitating because going straight seemed better to me. A young couple walked up the road with a bucket full of blackberries. Seeing them told me that must be the nicer way to go. Villagers were burning trash aside of the gravel road and lots of black smoke blow over the fields. I felt like I was in the middle of a fairy tale and had to make a decision. Straight ahead the nice, easy and sunny road and left the dark, unknown and mysterious path. I thought, Hey, why not turn left? It'll save me 10 kilometers. And this is what I did. Huge mistake!

The villagers were looking at me kind of suspiciously as I rolled down the gravel road. I passed the big trash fire and left the village. The road surface changed into sand at times which made it a bit harder to move on but it was still fine. However, first doubts came into my mind whether I had chosen the right road. The road led me through a hilly and forested area and it was incredible quiet around me. After a while it turned into a pebble road which made cycling very challenging. I had to get off the bike and push it. At this point I knew that I had chosen the wrong road but I felt like that I went too far to turn around. Moving on went really slow and I was cursing a lot. So I checked the navigation app again to find out if I'd get off this road soon. Just a few kilometers ahead of me there would be another road. The upcoming road must be better. There's no way that there are worse roads than that, went through my mind. So I kept pushing my bike. At times it wasn't too bad so I was even able cycle for a few hundred meters. I was surprised to come through a small village along this road. Two elderly men were looking at me like they had never seen someone on a bicycle before. And I honestly wouldn't wonder if it really was the first time. Having a bike in this area is probably the dumbest and most useless thing to have.

The closer I got to the other road the more excited I got. I pushed my bike an uphill section. Now it wasn't even a pebble road anymore. It was only rocks. The rocks had a size of bowling balls and now I was even cursing more than before. It felt like forever to pass that section and the sun was also about to go down. I prayed: 'Please! Let the new road be better than this one'. I didn’t want to be on such a road in the middle of nowhere at nights not to mention to camp somewhere around here.

'NOOOOO', was my first reaction when I reached the new road. Its surface was the same as the one that I just left. I was done, frustrated and ready to give up. I asked myself Why am I doing this? and wished to be at home right now. Even if I want to give up, I still have to go at least to the next town. So I kept going. Hiking my bike up a mountain through the dark forest.

It was already midnight when I reached the top of the mountain. I was on 1,100 meters altitude which was the highest peak of my journey so far. And again, I reached a crossroad. This time I had the option to turn left or right. Both roads were in the same horrible condition. I decided to turn left although it would be the longer route towards to border to Kosovo but since I 'saved' 10 kilometers earlier I didn't want to make the same mistake of 'saving' a few kilometers again. Also, the next villages would be closer on this route.

The moon and my bike lamp gave enough light to hike my bicycle down the rocky mountain road. I felt tired and frustrated. After a while I realized a white reflection on the road ahead of me. 'Is it really? ... No way ... It is! ... WOHOOO!' It was the median of a paved road. Such a relief! I jumped on my biked and rolled down the hill through the forests. It made me happy to see the lights of a parking car. A couple enjoyed some let's say private time in their car and they were very surprised to see me bombing down the hill.

There was a tiny church in the small village Gazdare and since it was under construction it didn't have any doors and windows yet. I walked inside and put my sleeping mat and sleeping bag on the floor for the night. I fell asleep immediately.

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