Words and pictures really struggle to capture the experience of standing barefoot in a hot bubbling mud pool, watching mist slowly reveal a creaking glacier while you’re chewing on copious amounts of liquorice sticks! Iceland is a country of stunning raw beauty, beautiful contradictions and elves… apparently!
Death by Camper Van
Arriving in t-shirts and shorts ignoring the buses to Reykjavik, we stubournly cycled the 50kms from the airport to Reykjavik. A cycle we thought would be a casual introductory jaunt. Nothing could have been further from the truth! Faced with 20km/hr northernly headwinds that shaved at least 12 degrees off the ‘pleasantly balmy’ 15 degrees, as informed to us by our chirpy flight pilot. We hugged the battered hard-shoulder of a dual carriage-way hoping to god we wouldn’t be squished by massive camper vans rattling past, frugally dividing the last of our black pudding sandwich made before we left Ireland! It was a tough baptism of fire and on reflection was the most difficult day on the bikes!
Which way will the wind blow!?
Route One is the main road that circumnavigates the whole of Iceland and was the road we travelled on for the duration of the trip, apart from the occasional detour. Because wind is such a factor in Iceland, the direction it blew was important to cyclists like ourselves carrying heavy panniers. So the main decision while travelling Route One was whether to go clockwise or anti-clockwise. Which way will the wind blow?! From our research there seemed to be pros and cons for either directions. We went anti-clockwise, ie, south from Reykjavik. We’re not sure if it was the right decision. You tend to remember the struggles of the head winds more than the ease of the tail winds! The wind was particularly ferocious and unforgiving in the east and north east. On occasions we had to pedal hard in our granny-gear going down hill to avoid being blown back uphill! We found that winds generally died down at night, usually from 9pm until maybe 3 am. Also the roads were a lot quieter with less traffic travelling at night. So with pretty much 24 hours daylight we did most of our cycling at night.
Farting Ground!
The landscape really is a feast for the eyes. It is an otherworldly land of Arctic desert, volcanos, geysers, glaciers, waterfalls, hot springs and lava fields. It was first discovered by the Irish monk St. Brendan and a band of his followers in the 6th century. I can only imagine what was going through the monks’ minds as they witnessed the black sand beaches, spitting sulphurous hot rocks and gleaming icebergs as they set foot on the island. It was probably something like “holy sh*t Brendan, the ground is farting!” or something to that effect…
Shat on by militant terns
Iceland’s bold and dramatic scenery is complemented by its hardy, sometimes delicate flora. In a country of ice and fire it’s amazing to see plants survive in the most inhospitable of environments. For large stretches of road along the Eldhraun lava fields of South Iceland, the largest of it’s kind in the world, the roadside was fenced on either side. Initially I though it was a farmer with a compulsive fencing disorder but it’s actually a preventative measure by the road organisation of Iceland to stop people from standing or driving on the fragile moss that grows on the lava rock. Consequently, Eldhraun is a national park and it’s forbidden to camp on any national park in Iceland. Wild camping in Iceland is such that you can camp anywhere other than these parks or if in doubt ask the permission of the land owner… if you can find them in such a sparsely populated country! (for tips on wild camping visit here!) It felt slightly peculiar to be setting up tent in the middle of the night with the sun hovering on the horizon. Even more confused were the birds, I’d imagine! And on the subject of Icelandic birds, they’re a little… well… unhinged! I was shat on and pecked by militant arctic terns, chased and surely mocked by godwits and deprived of sleep by the noisy squeaking oystercatchers!
1500kms, 25 days, and two weather beaten but happy cycle tourers! Iceland was amazing!
Next blog post will be about Icelandic food, keeping costs down while on cycle tour in Iceland and general cycle touring advice for enjoying this beautiful country!
Crossing the Oxi Mountain mountains in eastern Iceland.
Passing Eyjafjallajokull Glacier in South Iceland.
Vatnajokull Glacier.
They’re horses not ponies!
Jökulsárlón Lagoon.
Vatnajokull Glacier.
“Where’s me jumper?!”
Flying geese
Laura leading the charge.
Fixing a puncture
Midnight snack! We had 24 hours daylight while in Iceland.
Fish heads drying in the sun.
The water quality in Iceland was pretty great, and there was lots of it!
Wild Arctic Thyme.
Mountain Avens, Iceland’s national flower.
Fields of Lupine.
Thrilled…
Black sand beech, Vik, iceland.
Church in Vik.
Eldhraun lava fields.
South Eastern Fjords.
Taking a break on the eastern fjords of Iceland.
Typical campsites while wild camping.
Stone cairns. Often used in the past as directional guides or warnings of dangerous terrain.
Seljalandsfoss. A nice spot for lunch… peanut butter with something else!
Natural hot springs, vents and volcanic mud pools.
It’s the simple things in life!
Typical Icelandic family car!!
Laura conquering another hill.
What a view for breakfast! We were caught the night before with really thick fog crossing a mountain pass in eastern Iceland. It was too dangerous to continue, so we set up camp for the night and woke up to this stunning view!
Crank and Cog 
How can I sponsor your travels around the world? When is your book coming out? Your photography and videos are stunning. Your descriptions are informative, humourous and entertaining. I need you to travel for me, I am in awe of your adventurous fearless spirit. Reading your blog is visceral, immersive and exciting. I’m off to read some more!
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Ah, thanks so much Linda! it’s very kind of you to say!!
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Utterly mind-blowing! The way you take photos, the choice of motives, and not much text, so it leaves space for your own thoughts and imagination. Iceland comes alive in this report!!
Am a cycle-enthusiast myself, and dream of one day wake up in a tent like that, open the door and see the vast grasslands and scarce mountains of Iceland, too …
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Ah, thanks so much! It really is a truly beautiful country. I’d love to go back again and cycle the other way…hopefully with the wind this time!
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Thanks for sharing. I was military and spent 4 wonderful years there. So inviting , warm and friendly people. Camping and biking was outstanding! So was the food and fishing.
Miss it alot.
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I agree Gerod, the people were so inviting and welcoming and the food was great too!
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What a spin Ciaran ! What im at is only Mickey Mouse ! Pics are fab ! Ahh well back to the irate taxi drivers, light jumping headphone wearing numpys and self righeous tits whos first sighting of a cyclist is when you pass the windscreen of thier PCP financed Hyundai Tuscon – or going up by Salthill and getting doored by some little old dear whose prize poodle is just about to indescriminately defficate on the prom leaving several children with blindness – yes a far cry from Iceland ! Well done you two ! What a trip !
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Haha! You’re some boyo donal!
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Really beautiful pictures!
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Thanks so much!
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Your photos show the “other-world” beauty of Iceland. They have a mysterious, evocative quality. Just a question – what do they do with the fish heads when they are dried?
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Thanks very much Gillian! I think the fish heads are used as fish stock to add to soups.
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Pingback: Iceland: Food, Wild Plants & … Bike Pits. | Crank and Cog
Literally just got back from a trip to Iceland. We did a car road trip, but it was insane watching the winds taking their toll on the bikers 🚵. At some points the degree to which they had to lean against the wind was crazy. Kudos to you for tackling such a feat.
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Cheers! The winds really can be insane, especially through the mountain passes!
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If Iceland looks so pretty in pictures, I can’t even imagine how beautiful it must be for real. Your cycling experience tells it is not so easy though, but also something not to be missed. The glaciers and the waterfalls are so alluring. It must be a great feast for your eyes to see such magnificent sceneries.
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It was very beautiful Emily. We struggled with the wind occasionally but the views more than made up for it!
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Great post! Love the pictures and especially the video. You are very inspiring!
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Thank you so much!
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Wow. Beautiful photos. I really appreciate your effort on this blog. Iceland is my favorite destination as well.
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Thanks Zara!
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Thanks for sharing these amazing pictures. I must say you have enjoyed a lot this tour. I have booked Reykjavik City Cycling Tour with TripGuide Iceland on this Christmas.
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Wow, what a great place to spend Christmas! Enjoy!
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Incredible! You’ve caused me to put Iceland on my cycling list! Gorgeous!
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You won’t be disappointed!
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Amazing. Wonderful photographs. I truly value your exertion on this blog. Iceland is my most loved goal too.
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Thank you!
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Hi,
It looks like you had an amazing trip! I respect your bravery for cycling around this country, in what must have been difficult conditions!
I really don’t want to be a negative presence, but I just wanted to highlight the problems with wild-camping. It looks like you wild camped on your trip. I am sure you were respectful, and careful not to leave behind any sign of your being there, but I just wanted to raise awareness for yourselves and others who may visit this blog that due to too many careless/disrespectful tourists, the small size of Iceland as a country, and the delicate nature of Icelandic flora (like mosses for example) camping whereever one likes is no longer sustainable and should be avoided, even if you think you will get away with it.
I would always urge visitors to Iceland to research laws beforehand, so that they help conserve this beautiful country, as well as not getting into trouble themselves.
Again, I’m sorry if it seems like I’m being negative. But having worked with Iceland’s Environment Agency myself, I have seen first hand the damage irresponsible tourism can do in the country, and consider it my duty to help conserve natural beauty. I hope you can appreciate this.
All the best!
Cal.
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Hi Cal, I agree with you. Visitors and tourists should always respect the places they travel to and heed advice given by local authorities on protecting the environment.
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