Tour Totals

I spent the last five days decompressing at two different hostels in Reykjavik. I also needed to figure out getting my bike packed up and transported to the airport. Shout out to  Reiðhjólaverzlunin Berlin bike shop (https://www.reidhjolaverzlunin.is/) for supplying me a bike box free of charge, including extra cardboard and packing material to cushion my bike. 

Bus Hostel - my destination for the final ride

Galaxy Pod Hostel, my last accommodation before heading home. I wasn't sure what to make of this set up, but in hindsight - I'm a big fan. Plus- the bus service to the airport came right to the hostel (not always the case) so I didn't need to lug my packed bike box to another bus stop.

Wandering along Laugevagur street

Lebowski bar. My go-to local

I also highly recommend taking in Sky Lagoon as an alternative to the Blue Lagoon, if you're looking for a less busy, more travel friendly alternative while in Reykjavik.

Sauna overlooking the bay

Swim up bar

Emerging from the cave

My total distance was 1501.5 kilometres (1483.1km around Ring Road plus riding out/back to two excursions: Myvatn Nature Baths and Sky Lagoon). In spite of being the shortest in terms of overall distance, this tour was unique in a number of ways compared to my previous ones.

1. First tour on another continent.

Travelling to another continent for a self-supported bike tour required more preparation and redundant precautions than I normally take. I bought medical insurance, which I never normally do; purchased a local SIM card for data access; brought excessive amount of tools and spare parts because I knew I wouldn't be able to find bike parts I needed on the trip; brought cooking gear and several days worth of food in case I got stranded. 

All of this meant I was riding very heavy. My bike and gear was over 100 pounds, at least 25-30 pounds more than I usually tour with. This proved an issue because of the following fact - 

2. Most total elevation.

Over 18 riding days, I had accumulated 9915 metres of elevation. That's 10 kilometres of vertical ascent over three weeks. That's an average of 550 metres of climbing per ride, with over 300 pounds of bike/gear/bodyweight to carry. 

By the end of the trip I was starting to get used to - and adjusting well to these climbs, but the first two weeks were a physical and psychological nightmare.

3. Most riding days in the rain.

I expected a lot of cold and rain. My plan was to take days off to accommodate the weather, but I didn't expect it to be so consistently bad. That's on me. Icelanders are used to it.

If I took every day off that had bad weather, it would've be impossible to finish this trip. I probably had 5 days out of 18 where I didn't get rained on, and I was essentially cold and wet for my entire last week of riding.

4. Most camping.

I always prepare to camp every day on tour, but will take advantage of indoor accommodations whenever available. The reality was there were no last minute accommodations to be found anywhere in Iceland during their high tourism season, so campgrounds were generally all that was available. If you're tent camping, you don't need to book ahead in Iceland, regardless of season, which was convenient. I ended up camping 16 of 23 nights. 

Even after spending the last five days of my trip in Iceland drinking and eating like a madman in Reykjavik, I returned home 12 pounds lighter than when I left. Even with all the aches and pains this trip provided, my body feels better overall than it has in years. I feel like I've reset my body and mind following two years of pandemic abuse. Hopefully the trend continues.

Day 24 - Selfoss to Reykjavik: 59km

I finished my circuit around Iceland!

Technically I started my ride from the airport in Keflavik, but I'm not riding back there, so I'm treating Reykjavik as my start and end point. I might add a small excursion to get my distance to 1500km, but for all intents and purposes, my tour is finished with a total of 1483.1km covered on my bike. 

This little guy snuck into my tent this morning to wish me luck on my final ride - 

The ride out of Selfoss was straightforward, with little visibility due to fog. The fog got dangerous as I ascended the 400m climb midway through the ride...

Beginning of the climb

..but everything cleared up on the descent. The ride into Reykjavik was pretty much all downhill.

Once I approached Reykjavik, I had the same problem as when I tried to leave it at the beginning of the trip - finding secondary roads to get around Route 1. I got turned around a few times but eventually made my way to Bus Hostel, where I'll be staying for three nights before switching to another hostel for the last night.

It's too fresh to reflect on the experience right now, but I do feel like I was just getting warmed up after three weeks. The aches and injuries were becoming manageable. The weather and hills weren't as draining as they were at the beginning. 

If it wasn't such a nightmare to arrange last minute accommodations, I might have considered tacking on two or three more days cycling around the golden circle. I've decided instead to take the stress-free approach and plan a bus tour instead. There is still planning I need to do to get my bike packed and ready to ship; no need to add more hassle this late in the game.

I have four more days to kill in Reykjavik where I'll probably do some tourist stuff, but I likely won't post again until I'm back home on Sunday. I'll do a proper wrap up once I'm home and cozy in my own bed. But for now I hope you found some of this interesting. I'll see you again on the next tour!

Day 23 - Day off

After a short ride yesterday and a nice shower, I'm relatively pain-free today. Even my knee didn't wake me up last night as it usually has over the past two weeks whenever I toss and and turn.

I didn't find any nearby hiking trails but I did do a 10km walk along the Ölfusá River. While my knee has been okay cycling, I've had a noticeable limp when walking since initially hurting it in Mývatn. Today I seem to be moving around fine, and 10km didn't aggravate anything.

Got a couple of pics of arctic terns without them attacking me

The table from the 1972 match

It's beautiful weather today, which can only mean I'll get hit with wind and rain for my final ride tomorrow, but I'm up for it. On top of potentially bad weather, I'll have one more big climb with a 400m ascent over 10km. I've had similar climbs on this trip with vastly different experiences between them. I'll prepare for the worst and hope for the best. 

My preparation involves loading up on Viking beer tonight so I'll be nice and hungover tomorrow.

Day two and I still have my isolated campsite to myself!

Day 22 - Hella to Selfoss: 37km

Today didn't feel like a real ride. It was over before it really started. As you can see from the picture above, riding the same distance as yesterday, I would have been in Reykjavik this afternoon. Today is the shortest daily distance I've ever intentionally covered on a bike tour*.

At this point in a tour I usually put on the afterburners and get to the finish line as quickly as possible. Because I don't have anywhere to stay in Reykjavik until Tuesday, I'm forced to slow down. I think this is a good thing. It'll give me a chance to wander around a bit and take in the experience while I still have some riding left to to do, rather than reflect on everything only once it's all over.

Today I'm in Selfoss, and I'll stay here tomorrow as well. It looks like there's some hiking opportunities around here, and I'll check out the Bobby Fischer Museum. If anything else interesting pops up, I'll be sure to mention. Otherwise, the next and final ride is Tuesday; Reykjavik here I come!

I picked an isolated campsite farthest away from the washroom and other amenities. I still think I'll be surrounded by loud annoying people by night time.

*I did a 20km day on my cross-Canada tour, but not on purpose. I made it 10km out of Swift Current Saskatchewan before a hail storm forced me to double back. Technically I traveled net-zero forward km that day, but I counted 20km because I earned it.

Day 21 - Vik to Hella: 95.2km

Oh, what a difference sunshine makes. I had a big climb to get out of Vik this morning, but it felt good to be on my bike again, and the blue skies made the climb enjoyable.

Heading out of Vik 

Horses in the mist

It was mostly nondescript farmland I passed through today, and after I left the mountains behind me, it looked pretty much the same as riding at home.

But before I left the mountains, I had this interesting beast pop up in front of me. I swear it's a dragon lying down, but I can't find a reference to this mountain ridge anywhere. This is a dragon, it's not just me, right?

I finished my 95km at a campground in Hella. Just a big open field that might as well be a parking lot. I picked an isolated spot but for some reason everyone decided they wanted to set up right next to me. So much for privacy.

I'm at an awkward point in my trip because I could easily roll into Reykjavik tomorrow and be finished with my tour. Unfortunately I don't have accommodations in Reyljavik until Tuesday, so I have to stretch this a few more days.

The plan is to ride into Selfoss tomorrow, take Monday off, ride into Reykjavik on Tuesday and enjoy the rest of the week at hostels I already booked. Three days and two rides left to go!

Day 20 - Day off

It was another cool and dreary day, but I'm not spending it on the road. I took the day off to give my body a break, and also kill some time before getting back to Reykjavik. I spent the day walking around Vik, taking in the black sand beach and interesting rock formations.

There's a local legend about those rocks off the coast, but I'm convinced I'm going to run into One-Eyed Willy's treasure somewhere around here

Black sand beaches

I made a friend

My priority was walking around as much as possible. My knee had been okay while cycling, but still felt unstable walking around, so I wanted to give it some exercise that worked the stabilizers to see how it held up. So far so good.

Before this trip began, a work colleague let me know that she had family doing the same trip as me, separated by a few days. I compared notes with them before my trip and didn't give it a second thought until a stranger walked up to me at the camp's kitchen building today.

Fellow Canadians on tour

Kathy and Ethan had catastrophic equipment failure early on in their bike tour, but rather than pack it in, they continued thier journey with their bikes in tow, taking advantage of Iceland's excellent bus service. By sheer coincidence, we ran into each other at this camp today.

I have nothing planned for the rest of the day except rest. Tomorrow is about 95km of riding to get to Hella. Let's hope for good weather.