Day 7: Akureyri to Reykjahlio

Blogging from a beautiful spot just ten metres from the waters edge. It has been very sunny in Iceland today but a big black cloud is approaching over the lake so tomorrow I may not be so lucky.

Started this morning in Akureyri, waved goodbye to Angelique and cycled on. Akureyri  is at the bottom of a watery inlet with lots of up hills and down downs all around the water, very hard and into the headwinds again. After leaving this area I cycled up another climbing road for a grueling 4km. The road was covered in very loose gravel which was tough to pedal through and hurt when it flicked up and hit my legs, there were also an awful  lot of lorries which added to the pressure. It was very hard and you would normally work up quite a bit of body heat but it felt cold. Cycling at a fairly slow speed and into the wind chill meant that the air temperature felt about 9 degrees.

Crossed into the next valley fighting headwinds and again felt demoralised.  Got to a spot at the bottom of a great big hill and decided to stop for a break to gather my thoughts before the next climb. The area just happened to be a local beauty spot and sported a stunning waterfall so it was a lovely place to rest and take in the scenery. The next enormous climb took an hour but when I reached the top I had a reward! The wind direction had finally changed and for the first time on this trip I had the wind behind me AND I was going downhill. It was lovely, a real bonus but I had to step on the brakes for safety reasons as it was easy to get carried away!

After lunch the winds were still being kind and for 25 miles I enjoyed the tail wind. I soon arrived at Myvatn. Lake Myvatn is supposed to be one of the places locals go for their holidays. It is an absolutely beautiful lake with mountains set back topped with snow. The ground is full of installations of lava and some would say it looks ‘other wordly’. I cycled through the lava fields to Reykjahlio and have now settled just 10 metres from the lake’s edge. The sun is laying  low over the water and I have even met three other Brits who are also cycling for charity.  We have had a good chat and shared our experiences so far but I am guessing that they are here for a good time as they have now headed off to the shop for some booze

Dave is flying in very  late tonight, he will head first to Akureyri and then on to Egilsstadir where I hope to meet up with him some time on Thursday. Keen followers will be pleased to hear that as Angelique left Iceland she was reunited with her cycling gear which had in fact been there since about two hours after we had reported it missing upon landing (!)

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Events Team
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Day 6: Kinnafjall to Akureyri

Woke up to another beautiful day, Julien treated himself to a bit of a lie in. It was still cold but bright always helps.  Broke the tent down.   Set off and headed 55km down the hill towards Angelique’s location.  The head winds were at it again and even though the cycling was downhill it was only possible to reach 8mph, cycling into the winds is heartbreaking and always a challenge .  It was an unrelenting 4 hours. When we met up with Angelique she deduced that Julien needed to lose some kit to make the head winds easier so we had a bit of a turn out and Angelique will be taking 10 kilo’s of stuff and leaving it at the airport on her way out tomorrow.

Currently Julien’s leg muscles look like I imagine Popeye’s would.  Now having a nice meal and preparing to wave Angelique off in the morning. Dave is on his way and is flying out tomorrow although Julien will be heading to Akureyri in the middle of nowhere so it will take a few days to meet up.

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Day 5: Blonduos to Kinnafjall

This morning was a beautiful one to wake up to. Sunny and bright, not words we would have associated with Iceland so far.  The road out of Blonduos was calm and tranquil and we covered about 35-40kms without seeing any traffic. However, this was clearly too good to be true. As we turned a corner we could see a rising valley ahead of us.  Shit! came to mind. It is difficult to put this into words but we could see tiny cars up ahead of us climbing very very slowly. This did not bode well for us lowly cyclists.

We climbed 500 metres higher and higher up the hill. It was grueling and exceptionally tough. As we reached a plateau at the top of the mountain it was still fairly sunny and warm and the scenery was awesome.

As we began to head down towards Varmahlio (a small town housing 120 residents) we could see the massive drop ahead of us and it was a long long long  ride down. The weather was  beautiful and  really warm. We safely reached the bottom and after an amazing lunch  thought ‘life is great’.

Over lunch we looked at the map and saw that we could get 45 km towards our next destination.  Unfortunately our luck was out and the stand on Julien’s bike broke. No stand on a touring bike fully loaded is frankly a pain in the arse as you can’t just stop for a drink. You have to find something to lean it on. This put Julien in a grumpy mood. Then the weather clouded over and it got cold. Our non-stop uphill climbing of only  15km took us a whole  4 hours! We were so high up that we got to the point where there was snow all around us. We were yet again battling strong head winds  and we were freezing cold. Finally we reached the path at the top. We had drunk a lot of water and were very thirsty. The wind chill made it below zero. Julien had full weather gear but Angelique’s full weather kit had one missing in transit so we hailed her a lift down the mountain. Julien camped alone at the top of the mountain and experienced -2 degrees in the tent.  That said it was a beautiful evening with clear skies and the now familiar light nights.

Please support Kids First Trust by sponsoring Julien on his Just Giving Page

Events Team
Kids First Trust

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Day 4: Stykkisholmur to Blonduos

We awoke on Saturday morning having slept well in Stykkisholmur.  After breakfast we had a good review of the map and thought “bloody hell it is gong to be a long way from here to get anywhere useful” so reluctantly we cycled back to Borgarnes. It was another hard ride back and a bit of a detour but was definitely the right decision. The ‘return’ journey seemed harder partly  due to  Julien’s very heavily laden bike and the fact that Angelique’s make-shift  panniers shifted with every notch on the road resulting in us having to stop to re-adjust them after each minor bang. We covered almost 100k back to Borgarnes.

Although this may upset the more adventurous of our followers we elected to take the local bus to Blonduos which is a small seaside town in the northwestern part of Iceland.  Our leg muscles were bulging and the logistics of our kit were getting us down. Approximately 1000 people live in the town and the distance from Reykjavik is about 245 km. The word that sums up our first view of the town was ‘weird’ but we mean that in an eerily endearing way. There is an unusual building that looks a little bit like a pudding bowl with the top lopped off.  There were few people around and the only thing missing from this ‘Omen’ style scene was the tumbleweed. We found a little camp area and stuck the tent up.

Please support Kids First Trust by sponsoring Julien on his Just Giving Page
Events Team
Kids First Trust

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Day 3: Budir to Stykkisholmur

Tonight we blog from Stykkisholmur after a tough but rewarding day.

We have made it around the end of the island having cycled through a massive volcanic region. The weather has frankly been miserable for most of the day but the sun broke though late afternoon and actually turned out to be absolutely gorgeous.  We have been cycling mostly along the coast which is a tough terrain to deal with but very rewarding.

Fish is on the menu again tonight as we are now sitting in the beautiful fishing town  of Stykkisholmur  awaiting our supper. More detail to follow tomorrow!

Please support Kids First Trust by sponsoring Julien on his Just Giving Page

Events Team
Kids First Trust

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Day 2: Borgarnes to Budir

At 4am we were woken up by the unmistakable  sound of torrential rain pelting down on the canvas. Because of Iceland’s location, so close to the North Pole, you will have heard that the daylight hardly ever subsides so eye-guards are vital. Waking up to the sound of the battering rain wearing eye-guards is quite disorienting and we had no idea of the time. Tentatively we pulled up our masks hoping that it was not 9am and were relieved to learn that it was only 4 in the morning. So, eye masks back down and we were able to snooze away until 7am.

When we awoke for the second time this morning we got up and dried out the tents before heading out to look for breakfast. This is where we happened upon a unique Icelandic character who is a puppeteer by trade and now also runs a great cafe with his wife.  We had a fantastic breakfast and reviewed our maps taking on local advice from the puppeteer.

We cycled North West to the Snaefellsnes peninsula which had also been highly recommended by our first host. To get there took us 4 hours and battling the continuing headwinds meant we covered just 40km. In the afternoon Angelique had to pull up as she was concerned that she had injured her leg. We flagged down a passing truck and she managed to blag a lift to our destination for the day. I waved her off and cycled on, completing another 75km alone.

Tonight we reside in Budir close to Snaefellsjokull. Our prettiest location so far. We are in a small hotel which Angelique managed to get a great deal at and have a view of the glacier we had been heading for. Angelique is fine and should be back on the road first thing. Off to relax now!

Please support Kids First Trust by sponsoring Julien on his Just Giving Page

Events Team
Kids First Trust

020 7841 8955
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Day 1: Reykjavik to Borgarnes

We awoke to a beautiful day and set off north around the harbour towards Borgarnes which provided us with our first real experience of cycling in Iceland and along a 69km stretch. We had heard the Iceland was renound for it’s head-winds. The rumours were not wrong. The temperature was a very pleasant 25 degrees but the wind was incredible. The last part of the days trip had us heading along a dead straight road where we could see the last 10 miles ahead of us. Cycling in a straight line into the winds was almost debilitating so we were relieved to reach our destination.

We found a campsite and having set up our tents, headed off in to the local town to search for dinner. The food in Iceland can be challenging, fish is ‘popular’ but by now we were craving the green stuff. We were thrilled to find an awesome restaurant which served up the most fulfilling salads. Not something we thought we would ever appreciate quite so much but we went to bed full of fresh vegetables and utterly exhausted.

Please support Kids First Trust by sponsoring Julien on his Just Giving Page

Events Team
Kids First Trust

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Back on the road again

(Image by Paul van Roekel: http://www.paulvanroekel.nl/)

It has been a long time since I last wrote an entry.  In fact, it has been almost a year.

Since then, a lot of things have changed for me.  After pushing hard to complete the trip in Norway early, I managed to get back in time for the birth of my daughter, which was an amazing experience.  A lot of sleepless nights and nappy-changes later, it is time for me to start planning the next cycle trip.

This year will be slightly different to 2009.  I will be joined by potentially two other cyclists. Dave, depending on whether he makes it back from New Zealand, is a cert to join me for the whole trip.  In addition, Angelique, a new work colleague at Blast Radius, has shown interest in joining me for part of the journey as well.  However, she is based in San Francisco, which means that this trip posses some interesting logistical issues for my cycle partners.

The route for this year’s journey will be a full lap of Iceland.  In addition, if we have sufficient time and weather permitting, I hope to cross the uninhabited centre of the country.  Here we will get to see first-hand the island’s interior, the Highlands of Iceland, which are meant to be a cold and uninhabitable combination of sand, mountains and glaciers.

Iceland is the world’s 18th largest island and Europe’s second largest island after Great Britain.  To put this into context, it is about the same size as Cuba (the main island) and 25% larger than Ireland.  Reykjavík, the capital city, is home to two-thirds of the national population, which means that a lot of the ride will be very remote.  We will be cycling close to the Arctic Circle, which Iceland is situated just south of, which means inclement and potentially cold weather but hopefully almost uninterrupted daylight.

Iceland was made famous in 2008 for the economic meltdown of its financial and banking sector.  Being an island with few if any agricultural output, almost all of the daily necessities have to be imported, making it a punishingly expensive place to visit.  This year (2010), on 21st March, the volcano Eyjafjallajökull in the south of Iceland erupted, forcing 600 people to flee their homes.  Our route will takes us within close proximity of the volcano, so hopefully, I should be able to take some great shots.

Iceland has 2,869 miles of paved roads.  Route 1, or the Ring Road (Icelandic: Þjóðvegur 1 or Hringvegur), completed in 1974, is Iceland’s main road and circumnavigates the island, connecting the majority of inhabited parts of the island.  This paved road is 831 miles long, which is well below the anticipated 1500 miles I hope to cover in this outing.  Alas, we will not be able to complete the full lap on this road, as bicycles are not allowed through the Hvalfjörður Tunnel.  Instead, we will need to follow a 62 mile detour.

The main question to me at this stage is whether to cycle the island clockwise or anticlockwise.  I am aware of strong prevailing winds along a large part of the southern route and many other blogs I have read about their cycling endeavours in Iceland would tend to suggest the smart money would be on a clockwise approach.  The benefit of this is that the most impressive scenery is along the south coast.

Here are some links to other Iceland cyclist´s blogs.  If you know of any other good blogs, please post URLs and comments:

• http://www.danieldesign.se/
• http://www.gonesouthblog.com/about-is.html
• http://www.eftel.com.au/~wheelbuddies/iceland/iceland2009/index.htm
• http://www.cyclingaroundtheworld.nl/iceland/ie_iceland.htm

Day 31: Repvag to Nordkapp

Julien had a mammoth day on Thursday.

He left Repvag and cycled towards Nordkapp Island along a really beautiful 60km route.

On the way he passed through three tunnels, the biggest of which was under the sea and 7km long. Inside the tunnel were some insane dips and equally steep rises.

It was freezing cold and with a 9% uphill gradient for 4km.

He stopped in at a town on Nordkapp Island called Honningsvag, where he had lunch and got ready for the last 30km.

Julien said the last 30km were perhaps the hardest of the whole journey.

Nordkapp Island is essentially made up of a few flat areas surrounded by mountains.

After leaving Honningsvag Julien quickly hit a wall of road at a 9% incline and had to cycle up it for 6km.

Julien was then stuck cycling up the edge of a large hill on a small road alongside a number of large buses.

One actually ran him off the road but he persevered and made it to the peak after two and a half hours.

The weather had been great all day but just as Julien reached the top it started to cloud over.

Julien entered the visitors center only to discover that he had to pay to stand on the summit but they did at least offer a 50% discount for cyclists!

He spoke to a few people and got a photo of himself in a prime spot.

Julien says it was a great feeling to reach Nordkapp after a huge 2600 miles. What a great achievement!

Just as Julien got ready to cycle back to Honningsvag his stand broke broke but this didn’t impede his progress.

He made it back to the campsite where he met some friendly English speakers who were travelling through Finland.

Julien had an early start the next morning. He got up at 3.50 to give himself time to tumble dry his clothes and pack up before getting the ferry from Honningsvag.

The weather was great and the landscape stunning and Julien managed to get some great photos. But he dozed off and the weather turned to rain.

Unfortunately the forecast for the next few days is looking pretty bad, but this won’t slow Julien down as he starts the journey home by heading towards Tromso.

Here is the Google Map for day thirty one and a Google Map of the entire journey.

Julien undertook his epic journey to support the Child’s i Foundation a wonderful charity that is aiming to build a home for abandoned babies in Uganda.

Julien has made a great effort to cycle 2600 miles from London to Nordkapp please show him your support by sponsoring him on his Just Giving Page. Thank you!

Day 30: Alta to Repvag

Julien had a really tiring day yesterday but he made it to where he was aiming for, a small village called Repvag.

The weather really improved with loads of sunshine all day.

He started out from Alta and had a huge climb from sea level to the mountain plains at over 500m.

He saw more cycling tourists yesterday than on the whole trip combined!

Julien stopped in for lunch at Skaidi 90 km from Alta. He then decided to aim for Repvag another 70km away.

On the way Julien had to face another long climb and decent to the coast.

He cycled another 50km on the costal road, including a tunnel of 3km through a mountain.

Last night was the first time Julien saw the midnight sun on this trip.

He arrived late at a campsite that he describes as ‘dicey’. But the sun was still shining for first time in a week.

Julien is now only 88km for Nordkapp. He will make a final push on Thursday and if all goes according to plan will arrive at the northernmost point of Europe after 2600 miles!

Here is the Google Map for today – Julien is nearly there!

Please sponsor Julien on his Just Giving page and give your support to the Child’s i Foundation. Thank you!