Vik to Kirkjubæjarklaustur

If you can't ride, eat mixed nuts and raisins

This morning started a little earlier than yesterday but by only 30 minutes.. We immediately encountered a lively cross headwind, our speed was down below 10kph and once round a relatively protected headland we were exposed to gusts that stopped us dead. One of these little gusts managed to take me off the road, off my bike and onto the gravel slope, it happened in slow motion and was harmless but seeing the exposed bridge ahead we decided to take shelter by a large sign. The large sign told us that the bridge was constructed very recently as the last one was washed away in 2011 by a jökulhlaup, a type of glacial flood. The wind died down after a few minutes allowing us to get away before another jökulhlaup... Before long we were surrounded by Lupins and to be frank, not much else!

Today was always going to be a relatively short distance as we were aiming for a campsite at Kirkjubæjarklaustur and had the wind carried on even 70km in the day would have been near impossible.

Lunch stop 

Today's landscape didn't throw us the specific close ups of yesterday but we did pass some weird and wonderful landscapes, all of which deserve better descriptions than lunar and bosomscape (many mounds with cairns on top..). There are so many different types of landscape, one after another, often with some similarities to other parts of the World, but Iceland's version is always on steroids.
We are still in Southern Iceland but as we move east it is noticeable that the road has become quieter and the landscape more desert like at times. As we approached Kirkjubæjarklaustur we were able to see the imposing form of Hvannadalshnjúkur, Iceland's highest peak at 2110m.

Starting to get very quiet 

Hvannadalshnjúkur looming

Moss covered lava looking like the surface of the Moon

Disgust at finding his beer is only 2.25%

Hella to Vik

The road out of Hella

Day 2, the weather is still being very kind.. We departed Hella at a rather leisurely 11:30am, immediately we noticed that the traffic was lighter and the landscape more interesting. All of the section that we cycled on today is a plain between the Ocean and the Interior, excellent for cycling and increasingly excellent to look at. In fact the first real issue of the trip is that we simply cannot stop to take in everything that we should. We must re-set what we are impressed by, the alternative is that we will be caught pootling around the South Eastern end of Iceland in late September.

Hi-Lights from today were the waterfall at Seljalandsfoss, our first waterfall. Just around the corner we could just about see Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano that grounded European aviation for several days in May 2010 and also destroyed over 300 homes closer to home. Another waterfall at Skógafoss and the snout (?? Dr CP Green will no doubt correct me here) of a glacier.

Some non scenery related observations from today are that Icelanders not only love enormous 4x4s but also Cadillacs, for a country with a population of 320 000 they are heavily over represented. There is also a tendency for people to hand paint their small vans, Kim Il Jung being my favourite to date. Apologies but I didn't manage to capture either the Cadillacs or the painted vans.

Seljalandsfoss 

Cousin selfy at Seljalandsfoss

Obscured view of Eyjafjallajökull

Skógafoss

The snout (?) of a glacier after Skógafoss)

Today's journey ended in Vik, about 96km from Hella and on the Southern most part of the island. The last 10km sprung a delightful 12% climb that both Humphrey and myself enjoyed, the down hill and the Viking ale aided our recovery.

Day 1: Reykjavik to Hella

I suspect we are being toyed with by the weather Gods, today we experienced fantastic Sunshine all day and little to no wind. Neither of these things should be taken for granted here and I suspect that we have had sublime luck on our first day. 

Ready to go...

We are cycling entirely on Route 1, the Icelandic ring road, in Reykjavik and directly outside the capital this road is busy. Not only is it busy but the vehicles over taking you make Chelsea tractors look like scooters. Several of the 4x4s that came past had wheels taller than me. They also regularly have trailers as wide or wider than the vehicle. Fortunately the hard shoulder is quite wide as this is major route.

Our first stop, a shrine to Icelandic football

The hi-light of the day was meeting Dave, Dave is from Seattle and he is running around the ring road. He plans to do this in 21 days, with a 3 wheel pram full of everything he needs. To do this he plans to run 30-50 miles, per day. If Humphrey and I do not manage at least 50 miles each day, we will have to look at ourselves long and hard and ask the question. How far has Dave gone today.

This is Dave, he is better than all of us.

I don't know what this is...

 

We have stopped for the night in Hella, 92km from Reykjavik. We started after lunch so not too bad a start. 

First night glamour

Budget cuts to security at Gatwick are showing

Dirty burger and ribs, it hit the spot.

Arrived in the early evening to find a hungry Cousin who had very kindly pre-booked me a taxi straight from the airport (across a lava field) to our AirBnB accommodation. The beautiful spot photographed affords a wonderful view of a dual carriageway. The burgers were actually rather good.

Introducing a little adventure

On Thursday my Cousin Humphrey and I will begin a three week cycle tour of the Icelandic ring road. Preparation has included:

1. Five days coaching and socialising at Henley Royal Regatta.
2. Having the kind people at Athlete Service attach some very waterproof looking panniers and a pair of robust tyres, my previous tyres probably weren't up to it having punctured three times in one morning on the Henley towpath.
3. Partial reading of a guide book, I stopped after reading the first line on camping: 'Camping in Iceland is for masochists...'
4. The asking of advice from wise and experienced cyclists. Avoiding falling into volcanoes was high on the top tips list.
5. The purchasing of a plastic bowl and cup but sadly no Spork.

6. 

   Some stuff, all of which will be soaked by Friday morning.