Blönduós to Borgarnes and on to Reykjavik!

Sunset at a campsite that wasn't a campsite.

Day 12 on the bike was scheduled to be a long one, having got over 140k done on day 11 we were aiming for 155k. We started with very little weather to speak of, unfortunately I managed to fill my bottles with sulphur stenched non drinkable water. After 2 hours we passed a cafe and I was able to replace the egg water with some of Iceland's superb spring water.

As we headed south the wind picked up, behind us but with a few westerly descents into the bottom of valleys care needed to be taken not to be deposited into the oncoming traffic. After half way a small climb saw us experience all the weather that we have been so lucky to avoid, rain, hail, wind and fog, no snow. All this weather allowed me to make the most of my waterproof, it does it's job best when on my pannier rack, or when I am walking to dinner in the evening. Wearing it on the bike results in no rain getting in, but no body heat or moisture getting out, a wonderful invention.

Chili juice, it has magical power.

The fog didn't last and soon we were pelting it down hill and down wind closing the gap between us and our final destination. With 14k to go we stopped at a roadside cafe and due to our haste on the road rearranged our accommodation and flights home. The brief stop turned into dinner and at 10pm we set off in search of our campsite. One not on the map but advertised turned out not to be open and one on the map turned out to be a family reunion at a farm. The patriarch was having none of it, the two Englishmen were sent on their way, 11pm and 20km to Borgarnes, the wind still behind us we arrived at our final campsite at midnight, 175k on the clock. As a bonus we discovered the site had no showers.


Day 13, 75km to Reykjavik and the wind behind us again. Eggs and bacon on toast devoured, we set off with about 30km to go until we would have to take a bus as bikes are not allowed in the tunnel north of Reykjavik. Our map, which has done us proud for two weeks has finally turned on us. The advertised bus stop didn't exist. We cycled an extra 10k to Arkanes, as if by magic a bus was waiting for us in the town centre. With the bikes on the back of the bus we tried not to feel guilty..
sat in the warmth. Buses it turns out are where to see seals, basking in the bays north of Reykjavik, another tick. Puffins still zero.

The final road into Reykjavik is not very safe for cycling, especially in a strong wind and so with just a couple of kilometres to go we alighted and made for our point of embarkation 15 days ago.

Done! Time for a beer

The guide book says this trip should take two to four weeks and that much planning is required. I am sure that we have been very fortunate with the weather. Our trip took 12.5 days on the road, neither of us are particularly fit, in fact my cycling prior to this trip included one 50k ride in June and I cannot remember the previous outing. Our planning was simple, there are campsites and guest houses all around Iceland, it has amazing mobile coverage and everyone speaks English. The landscape is stunning, intriguing and extreme. I was a little nervous before departure, this I think is exactly how one should feel before a trip of this kind. I am now delighted that I took up Humphrey's invitation in February. I am not certain what is next but I know that as I approach my 5th decade it is vital to keep moving and if you, whoever you might be think that you cannot do something as active as this then you probably can! You won't know unless you try...

Akureyri to Blönduós

Moon over Blönduós

Up in time to take in a backbacker's breakfast on the main drag in downtown Akureyri and then straight onto route 1, although Humphrey looked to be interested in a local housing estate for a brief moment. Our first objective was a near 600m climb, this wasn't that bad as the first 300m was a gentle wind through the Yorkshire Dales again. Once at the top we expected a delightful descent, sadly the wind had other ideas and we were made to struggle down hill. The wind seems to know when you have a beautiful piece of descending road ahead and bellows up at you. For the first time on this trip we made use of each other and drafted into the town of Varmahlí∂, by town I mean 1970's Little Chef with similar service station attached. Coffee and Coke were taken, the sandwiches were museum pieces, I couldn't bring myself to touch. After a rather drawn out pause and many Germans' looking at our bikes, I assume because they are not used to such wonderful technology, or perhaps it was Humphrey's lady saddle... We were on our way again for the final 51km, another little hill, as we approached the top I sensed a breeze and thought we would encounter another frustrating descent, I was wrong. A glorious long drop, 66kph and kilometers flying by as we dropped onto the road leading north west and to our evening's destination, Blönduós. The Sun was out again and despite the locals' spacial awareness issues we flew into town, you can hear them approaching, you can see the car coming the other way and there is a moment when you wonder if they'll try and get through the gap or stay behind until the approaching car has passed, usually they go for the former and they are invited to be seen next Tuesday.

Looking back at the road leading to Blönduós

Blönduós is a functional looking place overlooked by the mountains of the Western Fjords, sadly off our route and one of the most beautiful places on Earth, we ate in a 1970's school building that turned out to be a good restaurant. Seal was on the menu and I was tempted to break my seal viewing duck by eating on of the cute little chaps, however I went for the lamb, they are plentiful and ask to be run over on almost every road.

We are 1088km down plus a little extension we took in the East, it is 244km to Reykjavik. Nearly there.

I am writing this at 11:30pm, outside. The sun set 40 minutes ago and will be up in just over three hours.

A face full of cycling kit to wake up to

The church in Blönduós and decorated lamp post.

Myvatn to Akureyri

Go∂afoss

 It feels like weeks since we were last peddling, finally we are back on the bikes and making our way to Akureyri, Iceland's second city and our most northerly stopover. Akureyri has a population of 18,000 so it's not exactly a city by most peoples definition but it is much larger than anywhere outside Rykjavik. Today's route saw us leaving behind the volcanic madness of Myvatn and it's surrounds. As Humphrey said, once you've seen the array of volcanic offerings there you are like a drug addict, looking for more of the same and unimpressed by anything other than a bubbling volcano or red hot lava flow..

However we did manage to be fairly impressed by Go∂afoss, one of Iceland's most famous waterfalls, the ride into Akureyri was decent too. The Sun was out, the wind was on our backs and the little city glistened below snow peaked mountains, the fjord sparkling as we approached, complete with sea plane taking off, quite a site.

A Whimbrel, I think?

Next thing north of here, the North Pole.

The road into Akureyri

An angry man and his lady at the Go∂afoss cafe

Second Cousin waterfall selfy of the trip

This is being imported to Bath as I type

A local card sharp

Crater at Hverfjall

Very lazy day today, walked up to and around the crater by the lake here. It was yet another Bond set, it may have been more appropriate to have arrived via Little Nellie...

Blofeld welcomes you to his latest lair

A Móberg formed 10,000 years ago

This is my piece of tephra, go find your own

Life begins on the new planet's surface..

Things to do in Myvatn when not cycling

The truth behind Iceland's erratics

Myvatn is a tourist hotspot, it is dense with active and recently active volcanic things to see. Tomorrow we will do some of that, today we did very little. Breakfast in the tent followed by lunch at the local bar then a short walk while Humphrey started work on his latest biopic.. The walk was particularly short as I fell asleep on a rock, a rock that is only about 2500 years old, one of many that lie in the fields around us, thrown up by the eruption that created the lake here.

The evening started with a game of cards, I am doing a convincing job of lulling Humphrey into a false sense of confidence. 

Icelandic ladies: Cheerful but stony.

Hustling

Skjöldólfssta∂ir to Myvatn

Second official Cousin selfie of the trip

Today started with a climb up to about 600m where we stayed for much of the journey North West, the landscape changed many times once again. We started with Yorkshire, working through some early 1970's Bond film sets and onto a land that we are all brought up to think of as Iceland. On a ride of over 100km there were no houses, nothing man made other than the road we were on and power lines. The wind was delightfully cold making stopping uncomfortable. Just outside Myvatn we encountered our first close up bit of active volcanism in the form of Fumaroles  (not geysers as I tweeted) at Námajfall. So now we have done about 950km, we are taking a day or two off the bikes.

Boiling mud, or possibly Boba Fett being digested

On the set of Diamonds are Forever awaiting Mr Wynn and Mr Kidd

Fumaroles, not geysers..

Djúpivogur to Fáskrú∂sfjör∂ur and onto Skjöldólfssta∂ir

Biddy, maker of beef sandwiches and fan of Glaswegian clubs

View from the campsite at Fáskrú∂sfjör∂ur

East, we must go east. Popped into the hotel in Djúpivogur for breakfast and ate like kings, salmon, blueberry jam, ham and cheese, not all on the same slice. More reasonable than most English hotels too.
On the road in good enough time, heading around a few fjords to our eastern most extent, Fáskrú∂sfjör∂ur. The fjords here run between steep sided slopes topped with numerous pyramid like mountains. The eroded strata makes them look as if they have been built by Egyptian slaves, perhaps they have...

A French flag, in another country, for more than 5 minutes. Extraordinary.

My determination to get on with cycling has resulted in fewer roadside landscape pictures, I would like to capture some of the wildlife (on camera, I'm not certain I'd be allowed to bring a Puffin through Gatwick), we have scheduled a day off in two days, and I hope to take some time to spot a few interesting and interested subjects.
Fáskrú∂sfjör∂ur is about to start an annual French festival, the town was used by the French fishing fleet over 200 years ago and in recent times much of the towns infrastructure, such as the hospital and the school have been built with French money. The town has French street names and the Tricolor flies from the town's flagpoles.
Tomorrow we head north, starting with a 6km tunnel. I am glad I brought my enormous rear light and have a very brightly coloured gillet, cycling under a mountain is unnerving.

Not all the views in Iceland are stunning

No internet last night so here we are in Skjöldólfssta∂ir, it is nothing more than a hotel on the side of the road on the way to Myvatn, a major tourist spot and where we head tomorrow. We are now about 800km in after 8 days.

Spending hours on the bike, you think about many things, such as wondering if they thought about the wisdom of drilling a 6km tunnel under a mountain in some of the most geologically active land on earth, after a few anxious moments I reassured myself they probably had. Then remembered that Trolls lurk in tunnels, there were many unexplained caves either side of the road under the mountain, in one I am sure I saw something moving...

This is the level of hardship we are enduring

Putting in some training for the King of the Headwind at the 2016 TdF

Top: Green, bottom: Butler

Yes, I have finally spotted some Reindeer, nice and close up.

Höfn to Djúpivogur

Enroute to Mordor

A suitably late start following yesterday's headwind fun. Today our breakfast was provided by Biddy. Biddy runs a cafe in Höfn, she prefers Glasgow to London as the dancing is better, she also makes very good beef sandwiches.

Dasher and Dancer?

Our ride today started well enough but after about 20k we encountered strong winds blasting from the North down each valley we turned into, when close to the mountain's edge the winds are very strong and unpredictable. One moment nothing, then suddenly a motion stopping blast. As the road moved away from the very edge of the mountainside the winds became more consistent, up the valley, riding north was going to be slow but once the corner is turned free wheeling fun!

As we approach the Eastern Fjords the land becomes more and more Tolkienesque, huge dark imposing rock faces rise up from the roadside, the sky is moody, accompanied by the sound of the wind, when the wind drops you can hear the Whimbrels who like to fly alongside, singing, wondering why we would do such a thing. The lambs usually two of them with their mother tend to give you a confused stare, before contemplating the choice of continuing ruminating or dashing off to hide behind mother.

The top wildlife spot of the day was a herd of Reindeer, initially quite close until they spotted me, and finally frightened off by two cars, I did manage to get a few long shots. The puffin and seal count is still zero...

After 103km we arrived in Djúpivogur, it

Djúpivogur from the campsite

is a quiet fishing village with a sizeable fleet, Humphrey and I ate fish and chips within view of the ships unloading their catch. The fish was fresh, very fresh. 

Now to bed as tomorrow we ride..

Svínafell to Höfn

Icebergs make their way to the ocean at Jökulsárlón

Earliest start yet for the longest day to date. Boosted by the local Skyr yoghurt we set off for Höfn via Jökulsárlón, which is according to my guide book the most photographed place in Iceland... The morning started well with a tail wind and much free speed, after 15km we turned a corner into a persistent headwind, it sat in front of us for 100km causing us to be stuck at 12kph. With a 130k to cover there wasn't much stopping, although we could have been better off walking a few times. After nearly 9 hours in the saddle Humphrey and I treated ourselves to some local lobster, it was good.

 

 

Not everything in Iceland is vast and rugged

Geological strata porn

Not Bono with a beard 

Anticipating lobster

More ice

Kirkjubæjarklaustur to Svínafell

The glacier at Skaftafell

Grey landscape, more grey landscape and Humphrey

Skei∂arárkökull

Brief post snack

Evidence of Geologists in the basement at the campsite

Another short day today of 70km, we are planning a 130km day tomorrow to Hof. Bit of a cold start but morale boosted by bacon, eggs, toast and coffee at a diner before the off. A light wind meant pleasant peddling, and I have started to find my 'constant plod' pace, getting into a good rhythm and refusing to stop for the first waterfall, but not the second little 

cascade.

Just another waterfall.

We were soon crossing a barren land, constantly aware though of a vast mass off to the left. This high ground suddenly gives way and out spills Skei∂arárjökull (My Icelandic keyboard skills are getting pretty tasty), a great white mass apparently surging at you from the horizon. As we approached our destination there are two further outpourings from the glacier at Skaftafell and Svínafell. At our campsite the tell tale sign of geologists lurks in the basement in the form of a box of Augers from Newcastle University, there's certainly plenty of geology here..