Departure - Iceland awaits!

Departure Date has arrived!

It is Sunday night July 7th 2013. Everything is packed, my bicycle is safely stored away in its box, and all that remains is to head to the Hobby airport tomorrow morning.

My name is Thor and I am about to embark on a 1300 mile bicycle ride around Iceland with a stopover in the west fjords to visit the family farm of Grafargil in Önundarfjörður.  It won´t be easy, but it will surely be incredibly beautiful and exciting.  For a rough estimate as to how my route will look like, check out this account of a couples trip around Iceland from a few years ago. http://userweb.eftel.com/~wheelbuddies/iceland/

From Iceland the trip will continue through Sweden and central Europe ending up in the Netherlands some time in early September.  

I will be updating this blog with photos and accounts from my trip as often as I can.  Below are some photos of my preparations during the past week or so.

Loaded training ride around Houston:

I went for several rides with my touring bicycle, loading it to mimic what it´ll be like on the trip.  I don´t think I ever got to the fully loaded weight because things are different when you´re carrying around food and 8 liters of water!  Below is a photo of my bike with the Houston skyline in the background, where I live. 

Below is a picture of me just before my last short ride with my bike fully loaded, and a picture of my bike as I was disassembling it to be packaged away.

Next time I write I´ll be in Iceland!