Iceland - Epilogue

Since I started doing cross-country trips by bicycle over 20 years ago, I’ve had thousands of people come up to me inquiring various topics of how, where, when, and why of my journeys. In case someone wants to know how to bike around Iceland, I’ll give you the Director’s Cut.

What did you have to do to make this trip happen?

    Since this wasn't our first rodeo, we didn't panic and stress as much as previous trips. Simply put, our     travel plan was such: We talked about biking on the Ring Road and had various stops we wanted to        make on the way that I had starred on my maps (one stop I was particularly with was be at Akureyri        on Saturday the 9th so we could worship the next day as there are few chapels in Iceland, I needed to     be strategic with where I would be at on weekends so I planned accordingly); Purchase two plane        tickets from EZ Jet airlines for less than $200 gold each I believe, departing from Luton Airport north     of London; bring desired food, gear, and rent bikes (see below);Turn on Holly's roaming for her            phone

What was your Gear List?

    2 panniers each (the bags that go over the back tires, we didn't bring our front panniers since this trip     was short)

    2 small handlebar bags

    2 packpacks plus Holly's little camelback she'd wear which is like half a packpack.

    4 bungee cords

    1/2 roll of Duck Tape (didn't use)

    1 laptop

    1 journal

    6 power banks. Wasn't sure how often I could charge my devices plus my phone is 4 years old and        has lost some of its charge.

    2 sleeping bags

    2 sleeping pads

    1 crappy tent that had a broken pole starting the first night which then tore a hole in our rain fly. I            told Holly that I'm getting her a new tent.

    1 stove (and two different sized pots) to cook with and 1 can of butane. We only used about half of it.     I don't remember the size of the can because we left it at the airport since you can't fly with it. Butane     is easy to purchase abroad. Our stove also allows for a hookup with a canister that takes regular            gasoline, too, for when we do our Asia/Africa trip. 

    1 fork, 1 spoon, 2 fold-abowls, 1 small insulated mug for hot chocolate or Holly's hot water.

    Toiletries

    (The rest of the gear list is what I brought for clothing and can't always speak for what Holly brought     or used. All I know is she packs lighter than me.) I brought two extra pairs of clothes. I think Holly        only brought one extra pair. Since she is Asian and doesn't sweat, she doesn't need as much clothes as     I do. 

    Raincoat and rain pants. The pants didn't always keep me dry. There's a micron rating that rain gear        has. Be familiar with what number works best for you if you plan to do excursions in rainy weather.1     pair of thermal top and bottoms. I used these only a few times when my clothes' were wet and I            needed something dry. (Check out Day #1 blog post of me wearing them!)

    1 light jacket

    1 pair of biking gloves. My fingers are still numb, though.

    1 pair of warmer cold weather gloves. I used this one day when it was really cold and rainy in the        north.

    1 neck scarf thing. Used it a few times and it was nice to cover my neck and face while riding.

    1 beanie. This is very useful at night while you sleep because you lose a lot of warmth from your            head. 

    1 eye mask. This was necessary for the Eternal Daylight here in summer.

What did you do for your bikes?

    We thought about bringing our Montague bikes that we used in Japan but decided to not pay the extra     fees to check them in on the plane and struggle to find a bike box for the way back. So we contacted     Reykjavik Bike Tours and rented two mountain bikes for $1,161.20 (at the time of today's exchange     rate) for 17 days. They were very accommodating and we stored our luggage and everything we            didn't take with us with them while we toured.

What food did you eat?

    Holly packed about a week and a half worth of food from England which saved us a fortune because     everything is expensive in Iceland especially the delicacies. 

    For breakfast we'd consume oatmeal with nuts or dried fruit.

    Snacked on sandwiches, chips, candy, or fruit.

    Dinner we feasted on ramen, dried meals where you add boiling water, or wed' scavenge the                    campsites for abandoned food like one place had a bag of rice and three potatoes! We ate like Kings     and Queens that night. We didn't have as much success dumpster diving like we did in Japan.

    We went out to eat 4-5 times I think.

    Bought a lot of Nocco and other fun drinks. We'd also sample the abundance of black licorice                flavored candies which are deliciousssssssssssssssssssss.

How much did everything cost?

    Holly added it up and it was around 3,000 gold coins we spent together.

Day 17: Hjalli Kjós Camp to Reykjavic

Miles 32.58

Last day! A nice one to end the journey on.

Forecast called for rain but Tender Mercies from the Lord said otherwise.

Look at the small Ox go!

Last waterfall to behold.

This rainbow was so close to us. Too bad the Icelanders don't believe in leprechauns instead of elves. We'd be rich.

I have to have Taco Bell in every country I go to. They had a bacon gordita that was so good. Not sure if you can get that in the States. But the food was so expensive. Just this was food here was over 20 gold coins.

Doesn't this Mt Dew look different than the kind in the States? More neon.

Reykjavik has so many bike paths. I love it.

Nice bike paths in the woods.

Attention City Planners: Do this. Bike paths next to all major roads.

I love when they make unconventional bike racks.

This was a Wolt fish or something weird. But it was the best white fish I've ever had. Litrilly melted in my mouth.

Here's some fun whale meat. It had a very smooth texture and fish taste.

Holly ordered another kind of fish. 

And finally our lobster soup. This restaurant had us sit outside cuz they were so busy. But they wouldn't pull out the verandas when it started to rain so we ate our food like that one meme.

Best rice cream hands down from anywhere I've eaten. That includes Woolf's Wonderful Premium Homemade Ice Cream. I discovered this place when I was in Iceland last time in 2018. Holly and I went here twice. 

And speaking of eating, look how many people you could eat with this truck. Iceland had so many tiny cars, medium trucks, and huge vans all with giant tires and wide axles  

Reflections:

Grand total miles: 876.75 according to my Garmin watch.

Loved this short biking trip. Despite being short it felt Eternal at times. However, in the end, as with all good things, went by way too fast. It was harder than I expected. Unpredictable weather and very harsh winds with a bit of cold. And I'll confess that there was a small moment, in Svinafell, where I wasn't sure if we would be able to finish the trip and I'd have to hang my head low. But the terrain/elevation wasn't difficult. Traffic was mostly mild despite not much shoulder for a majority of the trip. We had a positive experience with our bike rentals and would probably purchase a similar bike for when our route goes off road such as Asia and Africa. Holly was a champion as per usual. She's a terrific companion to have on these rides. And I'm not just saying that because she's my wife, either. Now we're trying to come up with a plan for our next adventure. #The Adventures.

Day 15 - 16: Borgarnes to Hjalli Kjós Camp

Miles: 50.35

We've adjusted our plans from time to time based on how sore/tired/sick we were and the prevailing weather. Today (and subsequently tomorrow) we decided to "savor the good things in life" as Kohor famously put it. 

Waking up late is a luxury even in Iceland where we have Eternal Daylight and biking at night isn't a threat. Sometimes leaving later means stronger winds or rains when we could have avoided both had we left earlier. In fact, one of the many cyclists we've met along our path left yesterday at 4AM to beat the headwind. The town we were camping in, Holly found this lunch buffet for us to indulge. Then we took the less-traveled dirt road to our destination, which made for a nice ride and I was able to find a license plate at the request from a buddy of mine. Now we're staying an extra night at one of the best campsites because we are ahead of schedule and I am finally watching Stranger Things so Season 1 will commence while we rest here.

Also, my knee cap has been hurting for a week or so. Hate this.

Usually, when I eat a buffet I fell bloated and nasty afterwards. Not so here. The food was light, non-greasy, no heavy meats or carbs. And I was finally able to eat some fruit and veggies for once! Those are rare here unless you want to go bankrupt purchasing them.

This buffet had a place for the kids to play while you fill your gullet.

Excellent dirt road that you could speed down and not have to worry about pot holes and wrecking.

Love this shot.

Yuzu is a lemony flavor we discovered in Japan that we love. This drink was all good.

Old ruins. Also, I learned that the USA and UK both had fleets here in Iceland during WWII.

Our campsite is nestled over there.

A pack of old VW enthusiasts stayed with us.

Look at these neat old things.

A few of them were having maintenance done on them.

Our humble home for the past two weeks.

Day 14: Sæberg to Borgarnes

Miles: 64

Slow day today. It dragged on. The headwind was mild but it's enough to rob us of a few extra hours. That's the tricky part about cycling, the weather affects you more than if you were hiking. But I still choose cycling as the superior form to travel - unless it's by plane of course, then it's tied. 

Today's route was simple; head south following Highway 1. I've been submersing myself in audiobooks during this trip (but that's not anything new as I'm always queuing up an audiobook). And I made it a goal to finish 18 audiobooks for the nearly 18 days we're out here. I think it will have been more days actually but 18 books sounds cooler. So it's just me and Holly and our books as we plug away. Oftentimes we'll listen to the same ones then discuss them after we finish. One of life's Treasured Moments.

Holly and I love geese and swans. Poldark taught us that swans mate for life. And I love seeing these birds out here doing a better job at parenting than most humans. You can just feel their fierce loyalty they have towards each other and their ducklings. Look at their little squad. You can't beat that.

I've been seeing a few of these decorations around. They look fun. 

We stayed a sub-par campsite. This was their kitchen wares they offered. We've been spoiled with our indoor seating and plethora of utensils and cookware to use. Sometimes even food left behind by a former traveler that is usually still edible and eatable.

Holly is the most wonderful traveling companion that pulls her weight and then some.

Day 13: Varmahlíð to Sæberg

Miles: 75.53

Seems like for the past week I've just been complaining about the headwinds. When your lifestyle is void of #firstworldproblems then the things that matter most are what you focus on. In our case the winds. They've been rough on this north side of the island. Today, our route led us in a northwest direction. Roughly where the winds were coming from. It was also raining a bit. so we were chilled. At the halfway point of our journey we found ourselves at a nice gas station to warm up. Perfect timing. At this same point our direction of travel was going to be taking a southerly turn so now that means a tailwind!!! These are the best. Despite the heavier rains now, at least we had a tailwind, which I'll gratefully take. 

One of the reasons I enjoy biking vs driving is that I am more grateful for small things and other problems disappear.

Look. This is my favorite. A village with a church. I still haven't figured out how many people are attending these churches since there are like 5 houses in the neighborhood.

Gas station food. My friend Dave's (with the tiny earers) favorite. This is an Icelandic dog. It comes with friend or grilled onions and some type of sauce. The bun was like a panini bun. I liked it. 

I'm loving the candy here. Not only is it in abundance of Black Licorice but also the candy is lighter and not as sweet.

We found 3 potatoes and half bags of rice at this campsite. Holly cooked up a dish for us for dinner. As she served it she said she was grateful that I'm not a fussy eater. I'm also grateful she's not a fussy eater. After a long day of riding this was really good. And that's saying something.

We wanted to sleep in here but the owner came in as we were rolling out our matts and she said "It's impossible for you to sleep in here." dang you, lady.

So we went outside in the wind. But we woke up to a nice, sunny and dry morning which was a Tender Mercy. Did I tell you how Holly's tent pole broke the first night? It's made sleeping in her tent more cramped and less stable in the ferocious winds. Also, there's our friend, Lisa's tent behind us. Our paths keep crossing! 

Day 12: Akureyri to Varmahlíð

Miles: 58.72

Something neat about being in Iceland during the summer is that the days are Eternal. I've discussed this at length already. But a side effect of that is that it feels like our trip here has also been Eternal. In a good way, though. We've been in Iceland for two weeks now- biking for a week and a half. Yet it feels like months. So that makes life exciting. 

We were able to meet back up with Lisa in Akureyri so that's been fun. Today's ride was great!

Holly made us a great breakfast of pancakes this morning. Look at her intensity. The mix we found here in Iceland wasn't the best but we made up for it by squeezing lemon juice (as shown in the pic above) and sugar + jam.

I like how detailed their signs are. Good thing the speed limit is only 90km/hour so you can actually read them as you drive past.

Lisa took this pic of us.

We're riding in this scenic valley and these mountains tower above us on each side. 

Finally at the summit an we get to enjoy 10+ miles of downhill!

It's rare to see a forest (or any trees) here in Iceland. I don't know why it's so hard to plant a bunch of trees. Apparently, Virginia and a few other areas were devoid of trees a couple hundred years ago and now they're thriving forests.  

If you're a fan of the Thor movies then you'll recognize this place.

Look at this neat church. 

I like how the mother horses get together with their young and they all have play dates. It's like we copied the horses. 

Construction time. They're paving the road.

Now we're staying at one of our best campsites yet. Full amenities. Holly is making a delicious din dins for us. 

Found these two candy bars that resemble each of us.