I went to Icleand with Bjork...my Salsa Bucksaw

[Flounder]

Just wanted to chime in about my resent romp through the land of vikings, trolls, elves, fire and ice. I was honored to be able to do it on what I now believe is my favorite bike of all time, a Salsa Bucksaw. It was such an attention getter it was like traveling with Iceland's most famous celeb....so I named her Bjork. Bjork and I spent two weeks riding through some of Iceland's most challenging and scenic terrain. Some of my route choices were bold. Some, simply ill-advised. More than one impossible to complete. I'll add more to the story later. For now....a few teaser images.











Pretty spectacular place to ride a bicycle. A couple of my routes I would never attempt again and while I'm glad I did them, wouldn't recommend them to my worst enemies. When your hike-a-bike involves several hours on all fours with a 50 pound bike on your back, or lowering it off mini cliffs with three sections of tent cord, your route has officially gotten the better of you.

[mbeardsl]

Need more of this story!!!

[Eastman]

Subscribed!

[Flounder]

Being a journalist, I've got designs for a more glossy retelling of this jaunt, but for now I'll share the nitty gritty nuts and bolts with you.

This was a trip I had planned a couple years ago, but never got around to making it happen. The actual ride route wasn't solidified until I took delivery of a Bucksaw last April thanks to the fine peeps at Salsa for whom I am forever grateful. The Bucksaw, being a dual boinger with big shoes, opened up the possibility of tackling some of the more aggressive terrain in Iceland. This....may have been a mistake.

At any rate, my route took me to the town of Vik in the south by way of a nice little bus ride. Once in Vik my plan was to ride counter clockwise around Katla volcano and into the southern reaches of the Fjallabak mountains. Once there I was going to doodle around and explore a few of the outlying trails and roads for some impromptu adventure. This planned route took me down some of the islands more difficult off-roads, they call "F Roads." The real challenge with those roads, aside from grades that are so steep they'll make your eyes bleed, are the dozens...and I mean dozens...of rather ominous river crossings. On my first day I had to immediately redesign my route when at mile 55 of a 14 hour day, I came to a river I simply could not ford. It was chamois deep, fast and very wide.

So, this led me to a 45 mile detour to the NORTH aspect of the Fjallabak Mountains. Once there, the temptation to ride the famous HIKING trail, the Laugavegur, was too much to pass up, although I'm not sure it was a great idea. I wouldn't ever recommend riding that trail to anyone. I must have carried my bike for 6-7 hours one day. Let me rephrase that. For 6-7 hours I lifted it up dozens of 3' ledges, dragged it up a 400 meter tall pile of volcanic ash, dragged it across a mile of slushy half-melted snow––in bike shoes, and then down-hiked rock gullies, ash piles, and of course, crossed river after river after river. I made worse progress than those on foot with 50 pound packs.

HOWEVER! It was beautiful to be sure. One I completed that two-day suffer fest, I tried to ride the Fimmvorohlns trail to Skogarfoss. 72 hours of straight rain had made the first major river impassible for even many big 4x4s, so I had to take an off-road bus around that small section before rejoining my route. That was another 16 hour ride, some of it (maybe 5 miles of 18) was quite nice.

The final five days were spent along the south coast visiting some of the sites and camping on the high flanks of the Myrdesjokull glacier. The ride into Pakgill canyon was stellar, albeit a genuine bitch. Icelanders have yet to discover the switchback. Every road goes straight up. Then straight down.

It's an absolutely gorgeous place, but not very kind to the backcountry bikepacker which is why I think most cyclists stick to traditional touring on the paved Ring Road or the more mild gravel roads in the interior. The singletrack can be good, but good sections are short and easily connected for a long route. The 55 mile chunk of singletrack I did on the Laugevegur/Fimmvorohlns took a solid, and I mean solid, 4 days riding at least 12 hours each day. Ooooft. It was tough. Even the gravel roads were a monster.

Fun stuff. When I say I would never to parts of it again, it's not hyperbole. I simply don't think I have it in me to do it. It was severely hard. Just when the terrain would yield, the rain would turn to sleet, fog would roll in, temps would drop to the low 40s, or as in the case at Lake Aftlavatne, 45 mph gusts would roll in to rip a handful of tents to shreds.

Beautiful place. To bikepack it properly in the high country, you certainly earn your spurs.

[Area54]

Seriously cool!

[Flounder]

This was roughly my route. The original plan was to ride around Katla volcano and tackle the singletrack between Katla, which is starting to get a little bit active, and Ejafjellajokull, the volcano that erupted in 20120. Perhaps not the best route in retrospect, but it did offer the ability to see sections of the backcountry few riders see. In fact, one park warden near Landmannalauger said that section of trail sees fewer than half a dozen bikes all season.



This is pretty much what much of iceland's "singletrack" looks like.   I turned out to be slower than many backpackers as I had to drag my bike up...and down...many sections of the trail. In fact...much of the trail I rode was one level beyond hike a bike. There was drag-a-bike, lift-a-bike over a hundred consecutive ledges, portage-a-bike over 50+ rivers,


The Bucksaw turned out to be a perfect bike for this trip, but even it was stymied at times, even in the sand. I absolutely love that bike.


I counted all of the river crossings I did in 12 days. Anything that got me wet got counted. In total 54 rivers. Of the rivers over my knees, there were 16. Of the rivers up to my thighs-9. Two of them, like this one, were scary to say the least. I ended up taking a minor swim in this one. As a former resident of AK, I learned a few things about river fordings. Little things like, loosening the cuffs on your jacket before going in...if you fall water fills your sleeves. Thinking I was pretty water-ford confident, these rivers really tested me.


My nerves and body were so shot by day 8 I reduced my mileage goals and spent a few hours before bedd hammering down some local beers gifted to me by random strangers that passed me on an F-road. Love Gull beer.

My day of site seeing along the south coast amidst throngs of tourists was really nice. Watching my wheels turn was a welcomed sight after days of pushing and carrying.


Iceland's road builders are a twisted bunch. Switchbacks on the flat then STRAIGHT UP the mountain side. Every climb on the F-roads had endless false summits or topped out in the fog. While they were often pretty smooth, many sections had scads of potholes to wiggle around and the grades were insane. I hiked a lot of road, which was depressing at times. Fortunately, 20 hours of light, and no real darkness, took the pressure off of rushing to a camp.

Spectacular place to visit. Depending on where you go to bikepack, it can be a burly prospect. At best it will be a mix of wind, rain, sun, fog, and probably more rain. At worst, it can lead to multiple forced backtracks, awful wind storms, really cold nights and days, and impassible trail. All part of the type 2 fun factor once it's all behind you.

[nick]

big scenery! Nice work.

[Ride1gear]

Wow

[Adam Alphabet]

YES! lookin' forward to the full full. Nice work!

[joeydurango]

Looks sweet Christophe - although I still don't understand how you and Brett ended up there at the same time, fatbiking on some of the same areas, completely coincidentally...

[Flounder]

Strange, isn't it? Not to mention that, but Kurt Refsnider who lives just across town from me in Prescott was in Reykjavik for a couple days just as my wife and I were leaving.

What's even more bizarre, on day 4 I was riding into Landmannalauger from the less traveled east side. It was pissing rain, I had been on the bike for 12 hours, and as I rode by an SUV on the side of the road, a voice yelled out, "Hey...is that a Bucksaw?" Turned out to be a couple from Atlanta who worked for a Salsa dealer. Pretty wild considering I have one of maybe 11 of the Bucksaws currently in the world.

I will say, if you want to get your Iceland bikepack on, get to it now. Icelanders love a bubble, and the tourism bubble is just getting started. My wife and I have a couple dozen close friends from Iceland and they all can't believe how the island is changing, not for the better.

[joeydurango]

On that note, I think I'll stay away from Iceland!  Plenty of the Rockies left to explore

[Flounder]

I've ridden my bike all over the world and lived in places like the Alps and Alaska. Iceland...is one of the most incredible places I have ever explored. If I never got the chance to pedal again outside my zip code, I'd be okay with that having had the chance to see Iceland by bike.

It's just getting more important to plan your trip accordingly to not detract from the splendor. I also found that all of the bike vids shot on the island showcasing the splendors of the riding are....pure bullshit. The recent video I watched depicts a guy on a bike, pulling a trailer, hitting some insanely cool riding trails. Little does anyone know, it took probably two weeks and a helicopter to link all of those remote, AND SHORT, chunks of trail together.

I didn't help the situation. That picture above with all the edgy basalt dihedrals belies the truth. I waited there for an hour to get that shot - in between tour busses and throngs of tourists.

However, the pic of the road that disappears into the fog, that 48 hour section of road was all mine. I didn't see a single person for that 48 hour segment.

[Flounder]

A couple people as of late have asked me about some of the specifics from this trip and about riding Iceland in general.

Logistics:

Actually riding in Iceland is pretty straight forward. Flights are relatively inexpensive and once you arrive everything is a piece of cake. You roll out of customs at Iceland's main airport, which is positively tiny, and your transportation options are right out front. A quick exchange of $25 for a bus ride to the capital city (45 minutes north) of Reykjavik, and your first leg is done. Getting to other points in Iceland...just as easy. Busses and domestic flights can land you anywhere along the perimeter of the island in less than 5-8 hours tops.

Money:

Iceland is very spendy. Gas is about $8.50 a gallon, beers in restaurants is a flat $9 wherever you go. Lunch...$25. Hotels...$200 for a hovel. Car rental...$200/day. Getting around by bus is not so bad with a trip across the island probably around $90.

Weather:

I loved it. Windy as all hell. I do mean wind, as in not just knock your hat off, but your head with it. 30mph is almost common. 45mph, not unusual. Rain...yes. In my month there, there was not more than two days without rain. There's little rain, big rain, soft rain, off-and-on rain, mist...rain. It's also very mild temperature wise. With no big swings in daylight, the temps are stable, in summer it was almost a constant 55 degrees. Again, I loved it. Good GoreTex weather.

Trails:

Every time I told someone I was going to Iceland, they'd say, "Ya, I hear the trails there are sick." You heard wrong, my friend. The trails really do suck. As riding trails go, they're not just bad, they're full blown terrible. You can get some good rides in here and there, but the good trails are short, disconnected, and there are damn few of them. I rode a few trails that were amazing, but we're talking 2 mile sections that required a solid hour hike to access. Lots of down hiking in Iceland. This is not to say the overall ride scene sucks. The volcanic gravel F-Roads will kick your ass and are beautiful. Some were perfect for a fatbike. None were unattractive.

Scenery:

Mind blowing. Impossible to describe and not sound like I was stoned all month long while I was there. Waterfalls, fields of green moss, rivers, volcanic deserts, black sand beach, sea birds, horses, sheep, puffins, whales, glaciers, volcanoes....it's crazy. I regularly saw landscapes that defied my most vivid imagination. And this as a former resident of the Alps, Alaska, Hawaii.... Iceland. The most beautiful place on earth. There you have it.

People:

They're great. Everyone speaks English. They're annoyed slightly that you're there as a tourist, but show them respect and a wad of cash and you'll be mates for life.

Culture:

Oddly enough, there's not a ton of texture and depth to Icelandic culture. They speak English even amongst themselves at times, love Dominos Pizza, and in general there aren't a lot of idillic villages with tiny cottages and museums. Throw in tons of American pickups and campers and at times it feels like...not a country in the North Atlantic. If you seek pure Icelandic culture, it's there. You just have to want to find it.

For those interested...hope that helps.

[southwestbackcountry]

Super great trip and I appreciate you posting it.  great photos too.

[mikedeber]

Great post, thanks!

[Flounder]

How 'bout some F#&%ing rain!? There were days and days of rain. Some of it heavy and paired to cold wind off the north atlantic. This day sucked. Went to bed in the rain, slept through rain, woke up to rain, broke camp in the rain, rode through rain, lunch in the rain....RAIN.




The best riding is on the F roads. Most will kick your ass, have ball deep water crossings, and if you look in the distance you'll see wind whipping up dust storms. This day had 40mph winds most of the day.

[offroute]

Incredible trip! Bravo on getting back alive and reporting!

[Flounder]

Please look for the Gear Guide issue of Overland Journal for the full report. It will hit newsstands in December. www.overlandjournal.com

[alpinum]

People:

They're great. Everyone speaks English. They're annoyed slightly that you're there as a tourist, but show them respect and a wad of cash and you'll be mates for life.

I hope you don't think they're great just because they speak English...
Annoyed that I was there as a tourist? Never. I've been given warmth, hospitality and kindness on every account. Wad of cash? No.

Culture:

Oddly enough, there's not a ton of texture and depth to Icelandic culture. They speak English even amongst themselves at times, love Dominos Pizza, and in general there aren't a lot of idillic villages with tiny cottages and museums. Throw in tons of American pickups and campers and at times it feels like...not a country in the North Atlantic. If you seek pure Icelandic culture, it's there. You just have to want to find it.

You really missed many many things. You don't need to visit Þingvellir to realise that they have a intense heritage!
Not many countries have such a precisely recorded history - from the very first settler, 1140 years ago. With this, their culture is one of the most accessible I came across and it has come a long and interesting way. It's all dished out, readily available. They're proud of their viking heritage, love Harðfiskur with butter and other seafood. I saw more Japanese (Hilux and Landcruisers turned into superjeeps) jeeps...


Flounder, as much as I enjoyed your pictures, what you write in some cases is exaggerated (MTFU) and misleading (and ignorant). To make things worse, placenames are mostly wrong.

Am I planning to go again? Yes. By bike? Yes.