27.07. Innsbruck – Keflavík

So than! Here I am sitting, a little stressed but fine, at Munich Airport waiting for my flight. All is organized and checking my bicycle in, packed into two different boxes (the wheels were to big for the bike box) was no problem. The heavy luggage guys are pretty easy going. The sun is greeting me through the clouds and is sending a good omen for the upcoming trip. I had an overnight flight and landed at midnight in Iceland. It was still bright and out of the plain I could spot the black south shore of Iceland with its wide meandering Rivers.

The Flight

I was flying with Air Berlin (Munich – Keflavík) and booked the trip far ahead. For the Bike they charged me 50€ extra (for both ways). In total I played about 400€.

28.07. Keflavík – Reykjavík (63km)

Happy Birthday Peter – exactly at midnight I passed the border check point and while loading money I talked to other tourists and joined taking a cap to Camping Alex (Phone 354 4312800). This Campsite is 2 km away from the airport and if you call them at the information desk they shuttle you over for a good price. If you want a cabin or room to stay you better make a reservation, but for just setting up a tent you don’t need one. They charge you for your first and last stay (one night 1000 ISK = 5 to 6 €) and store your bicycle box on the campsite. I assembled my bike set up my tent and went to sleeping bag bed.

Next day I was surrounded by bikers fixing and assembling their bikes. I talk to Martin a guy from Sweden and we decide to cycle to Reykjavík together. After beer and pizza we made plans to go north.

The route:

The first riding day was a good appetizer. You spot the first lava fields and more or less flat you ride on Str. 44, which is a two lane busy highway with an extra lane for cycling on the side, to  Reykjavík. In Reykjavík we used my GPS to avoid heavy traffic and to find the Campsite.

29.07. Reykjavík – Þingvellir (63km)

Reykjavík is a busy community and we explored the city in the morning. After a the last shopping, I had to buy a seat, could not stand the pressure not heaving one and checking out the local bike shops (no extra spokes for me) we took off north. If you are lucky you might find the cycling path which is along the coastline and leads you to Mosfellsbær. And than east to Þingvellir (Thingvellir). We took off in the afternoon and so we arrived late and just went to the campsite to cook and stay. I didn’t had much cycling training and Martin was also slowed down by his Paris city lifestyle so we decided to take it easy. My experience is, that you have to slow yourself down everyday if you want to go on long distances. If you exhaust yourself too much you might not be able to cycle on for days.

The route:

The Reykjavík traffic can give you a hard time so you might look out for the bicycle path to Mosfellsbær. From there we went east on the paved Str. 35 to Þingvellir. A little climb on the 35 but a good road with not much traffic.

30.07. Þingvellir – Uxavatn (33km)

Þingvellir is a historicaly and geologicaly very interesting place and it lies next to the biggest fresh water lake of Iceland. The North American and Eurasian plates are drifting away from each other and you can see the cracks and faults forming the landscape. The Vikings used Þingvellir as an meeting point and discussed and ruled there. They built their houses and halls out of wood so only a stone ring basement is left.

After sightseeing we went north and free camped at a very nice spot at the Uxavatn.

The route:

I am a little worried about my bike and I originally planed to avoid gravel whenever I can. Martin thinks my bike will be fine and so we went north on the 52. The street climbs and the gravel is mostly not too bad to go on. One some spots they maintained the road and sand and gravel forced me to push the bike.

Iceland is not very populated and up here we already realize that. After the climb it flattens out and on the horizon we spot Porisjökull.

31.07. Uxavatn – Varmaland (70km)

We keep on cycling west and the street follows down the valley. I spot a few birch trees along the way and a sign tells me something in islandic which of course I don’t understand. While exploring this nice spot i found a small hot pot! This is very welcome and taking a hot bath was a real pleasure.

You can find the hotpot a few kilometers east of Reykir (which is a hotbath) in the upper section of the valley on the northern side of steet 52. It is marked on my overfiew map and realy worth it going there (N64 30.291 W21 12.275).

The route:

First washboard experiance on the 52 west of Uxavatn and some bad gravel. Further west the street is much better. Down the valley we hit Str. 50 a good paved road which leads us to our final destination Varmaland.

01.08. Varmaland – Reykir at Hrútafjörður (92km)

We ride on the Ring Road, looking forward to see the northern coast of Iceland. The scenery is very nice around us. It’s a mixture between volcanic stone which is overgrown with white moss, green hills and mountains surrounding the Langjökull.

That’s what makes it so fascinating to cycle in Iceland. It’s the permanent changing of the landscape and the scenery. We were lucky with the weather, only in the afternoon we had some rain. The summer weather is in general better in the north and the weather forecast is pretty accurate in island.  Filled up with the biggest N1 burger ever, we manage to ride the last few kilometres and find a nice campsite next to a hostel overlooking the Hrútafjörður. A long cycling day, especially our breaks, Martin and I talk, sit and eat for hours. I am dead tired and fall a sleep immediately.

The route:

The Ring Road is a well paved road and except of the traffic nice to ride. Especially up north it might be busy on weekends. The 1. of August is a calibration day (day of the shop owners) so there was much going on.

Weather forecast:

I was surprised how accurate the Iceland weather forecast was. I recommend to check the homepage of the “Icelandic Met Office” whenever you can. They also give you wind directions which is nice to know for cyclists.

02.08. Reykir at Hrútafjörður – Blönduós (75km)

After a cold night it takes forever to get into gears in the morning. All the guests are already gone but our tents are still standing. The weather is bad. It is raining and cold and we are ready for a rest day soon. After the first 30 km we are starving and stopping again at N1 road restaurant near Víðigerði. What a nice surprise, go for the daily special, all you can eat Icelandic food. Completely stuffed we don’t even know how to ride anymore. After hours (again) we continue on the long, flat and never ending road north to Blönduós. We rent a small cabin and celebrate this luxury with beer and chocolate.

The route:

The section from Reykir at Hrútafjörður to Blönduós was mostly flat and well paved (Ring Road).

03.08. Restday Blönduós (3km)

The cabins were nice and I really enjoyed staying there. We were sleeping all day, only got Halooooed to death one time which infected Martins dreams in a strange way. We are making plans, of course to change them again afterwards, and do some shopping that’s it for the day.

Prices for groceries aren’t that bad in Iceland, I took tons of food with me from Austria heaving still a trauma from the Norwegian food prices. Only going to restaurants for quality food is a little expensive and the beer as well.

–> continue reading Chapter 2: “The North”

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