Post #1

Leaving Denver: 08/11/25-08/12/25

I hate, hate, hate airports because we always feel rushed to get checked in and walk to the gate. It's not until I am at the gate with a nice white mocha in hand that I can begin to relax. 

Denver international has a new security check-in where you can make an appointment. It worked like a charm. We showed up and got right through security with absolutely no line. But we had a couple of new hurdles to figure out.

We arrived curbside and said goodbye to Helen, our daughter -in-law, Sarah grabbed a luggage cart and we proceeded to load our bike boxes horizontally across the cart. In addition we piled on our panniers and an oversized suitcase. 

Everything was fine until we tried to enter the building. As we approached the doors I almost took out a lady wearing an medical boot but at the last minute she limped to the side. A quick glance with my inner measuring tape I could see there was no way we could wheel those boxes through the door. So, I unloaded all the luggage and bike boxes because they were too wide and carried them into the building. 

Once inside we reloaded all the luggage before we discovered that our flight check-in was a floor below us. Being the astute travellers we are it dawned on my massive cerebral cortex (peabrain) that we would have to take an elevator. So we had to to unload our luggage once again and stand the boxes on end. Now we had a clear shot to the check-in counter.

Our second hurdle came in the form of a tracker tag. We put one in each bike box and one in our checked-in bag. As it turns out, we are not the most technically literate folks...who da guessed? We arrived at our gate after getting a nice relaxing cup of Caribou Coffee and took a look on our phone to see where our boxes and luggage were. 

To our surprise the first device indicated that one of the boxes was still at home along with our checked-in luggage. But you ask, "How could that be?" Obviously we had technical difficulties. But we are happy to say that we did have success with one of them. It appeared to be tracking out on the tarmac in the right location. With a sigh of relief the trip began. 

Keep on rolling,

Scott and Sarah

Arriving in Serbia: 08/13/25

We arrived in Amsterdam where we met up with Craig and Susie. Happily, we were also greeted by all of our luggage and our bikes. Since we had to catch another flight to Belgrade the next morning, we checked our bikes into a storage unit at the airport.

After a restless night’s sleep, we picked up our bikes and boarded our KLM flight. Two-hours later, we landed in Belgrade, picked up our luggage and bikes, and were greeted by

our shuttle driver, Milan. He was dutifully waiting for us as we exited the baggage area. The look on his face when he saw our four bike boxes wasn’t surprising. I had a suspicion all along that we wouldn’t fit everything into his van. But Milan was a good sport and kept saying "We make miracle"and we set off with high hopes.

When we arrived at the van, my first thought was, “No way.” Milan, however, insisted we were about to witness a miracle. He loaded Craig and Susie’s boxes onto the back seat and then attempted to squeeze our boxes over the top of the rear seats. With the temperature close to 95°F, we were all on edge, and those boxes simply weren’t going to fit. In a last-minute effort, we unloaded our tandem bike from its boxes, packed each piece into the van, and off we went.

Milan dropped us off about a block from our Airbnb. We all began piling our luggage, panniers, boxes, and parts onto the street corner. Since we were staying on a pedestrian-only street, we had to shuttle our stuff in multiple trips. We had finally arrived in Serbia and were ready for bed.

Keep on rolling,

Scott and Sarah

A Chill Day: 08/14/25

Jet lag is very real, and none of us got a great night’s sleep on our first night. Craig was the first to get up in the morning and immediately started assembling his bikes. The rest of us stumbled out of bed at various times.

We spent the day walking through a mall and strolling through Kalemegdan, the city’s former military fortress. After exploring the fortress grounds, we decided to get some water and a few beers to cool down. A nice outdoor veranda shaded by trees provided some relief from the 95°F weather. Belgrade has been battled over 115 times and razed to the ground 44 times. Yet today

the city boasts beautiful cobblestone streets, amazing shopping areas, and many fine dining establishments.

Keep on rolling,

Scott and Sarah

Going for Gas: 08/15/25

Today, our mission was to find gas for our Jetboil stoves. Yesterday, I struggled with a headache all day, likely due to the heat, but I woke up feeling much better. I started the morning assembling our bike and, thankfully, all the parts were accounted for.

We set out to walk a few miles to our favorite sporting goods store, Decathlon. After a 45 minute walk, we arrived 15 minutes before opening, so we stopped at a coffee shop and indulged. The coffee was delicious! Unfortunately, the trip was a bust because they were out of the gas we needed, but we were told another store across town had some in stock. So, all was not lost.

We headed back home, where we parted ways. Craig and Susie went to buy the stove gas, while Sarah and I visited the Tesla Museum. It was a small but very informative museum showcasing many of Nikola Tesla’s inventions. They even had a working Tesla coil that we saw in a live demonstration.

When we bought our tickets, I noticed a book on the shelf about Tesla’s time in Colorado Springs, USA, where he had built a facility to work on many of his inventions.

Meanwhile, Craig and Susie navigated the free city bus system and made their way to the other Decathlon, only to find no gas in stock. A sense of despair set in as they contemplated eating cold food for who knows how long. But, as luck would have it, Susie spotted a BBQ store across the mall, and they had the gas in stock. Just when you think things won’t work out, something often comes along!

We’re slowly getting acclimated to the heat and plan to hit the road in two days.

Keep on rolling,

Scott and Sarah

Final Preparations: 08/16/25

Tomorrow we start our journey to Amsterdam so today we are packing our gear, buying groceries and trying to enjoy our last few moments of air conditioning.

Keep on rolling,

Scott and Sarah