South by Southwest

Stockholm i mitt hjärta - August 5

Country number 2 of my journey! My flight from Iceland left at 01:15 the night between Sunday and Monday, so I arrived to a sunny Arlanda airport at about 6:30. After picking up some maps at the information desk I just headed outside and found a quiet spot to unpack my bike and luggage. I felt like a transformer, going from box and suitcase to bicycle and gear. "Autobots - Transform!" Plus I felt like a robot after a sleepless and stressful night, so the trip down into Stockholm although extremely beautiful and fun was not my best ride ever. The route went through farmland, into small villages, past old churches, and slowly entered the beautiful city of Stockholm itself, right through downtown to the neighbourhood of Bagarmossen where my sister lives. Along the way an Icelander stopped me who had seen my flag so we chatted for a bit, and several people came up to me and just asked about my bike, where I was going, where I'd been - lots of curious Swedes! 

My impromptu workshop at Arlanda

Off day - August 6

The next day my sister and I got to spend some quality time together, and for lunch I met up with my cousin who also lives in Stockholm, who came with her 6 month old daughter! It was great catching up and she showed me some parts of town I'd never been to like the area by Vitabergsparken. In the afternoon I had to pick up some extra gear like a new gas canister for my stove, and some replacement bungee cords that had been stolen by some hoodlums while my bike was outside my sisters apartment for about 30 minutes! The evening consisted of a delicious home made meal by my sister, together with her and her boyfriend who I met for the first time. Followed by some intense map reading to prepare for the days ahead.

South by Southwest - August 7

I woke up early, but still got a pretty late start after just relaxing in the morning with a slow breakfast, hot shower and packing my stuff together. I set off from Bagarmossen towards Huddinge, but my map only went to Flemingsberg so the next stage past Tullinge and Tumba was a bit tricky and I went on a bit of a loop before finding my way back to the route I had planned. As I turned off the main road to bike down towards Skanssund and Mörkö, I was surprised for having to navigate around an overturned car that was blocking the bike path. It must have been a recent accident since there were still personal belongings in the car, but nobody was around! After a rainy morning, the sun now came out in earnest and the route down the peninsula was an absolute delight. After 16km of wondrous cycling I arrived to the small ferry and met a German couple who were on their way home after a tour of Poland, the Baltic states, Finland and now Sweden. Since they retired in 2008 they've gone on yearly bike tours, including Iceland in 2009! I can't help but notice though that most all the cyclists I meet on my trip are quite a bit older than me. I wonder what that means… Mörkö was also beautiful, very quiet with hardly any traffic, just beautiful fields with summer houses here and there. I soon got on another main road that took me through Vagnhärad, and as it was early I skipped Trosa and continued immediately on the road towards Nyköping. With about 90km on the meter, and getting a bit tired I decided to find a spot to camp and pulled off, wandering into the forest and found a perfect quiet spot with soft ground to lay on. Perfect for a good nights rest, after my first proper cycling day in Sweden!

Not an obstacle you often see blocking your bike path

What a contrast to Iceland! - The beauty of Swedish summer

Crossing the archipelago in the Baltic sea

The ferry "Karin" that took me to Mörkö

Finally get to camp in the forest again!

Cycling Kiwis, Black Eagles and Bulldogs

Cycling Kiwis, Black Eagles and Bulldogs

I was eager to get a good look of Skógafoss before the busloads of tourists arrived, so I strolled off the 100 meters or so from my tent and was woken up properly by the mistiness of the spray caused by the 60m tall waterfall. Next to the waterfall is a set of stairs that leads to the top of the waterfall and beyond to a popular hiking trail along the river Skógará between the two glaciers Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull to Þórsmörk beyond. Halfway up is an incredible vantage point where you feel like you´re inside the waterfall, although it was a bit treacherous standing there on the the slippery cliff. I got to the top and was tempted to keep hiking but knew I had to turn back soon. Once down I ran into none other than Dan! The Englishman I met at Mývatn who had told me about the secret campsite by Dettifoss. He had made his way down the Kjölur route and told stories of massive thunderstorms he had to avoid there which are very rare. Later, as I´d packed up my gear and was about to cycle off, I ran into my Austrian friends Andreas and Sabine again! They had obviously gotten an earlier start than I and had caught up. We talked for a bit and were told off by an impatient Icelandic father to move further off the road but we just felt sorry for him stuck in a metal box on wheels like he was! As I cycled off I had a great tailwind and was flying along again, but stopped not far away to see Selja

landsfoss, another famous waterfall in the area, this one where you can easily walk around the back of it. After the obligatory tour around, I chatted with another cycling couple that had stopped there. It was Franz and Susan from New Zealand, two Kiwis that work 6 months of the year, and then spend the other half traveling by bike! Last year they were in Japan six months, and have previously gone on trips from Finland to Portugal and the like! They were great fun and extremely friendly, leaving me with their address on the south island for whenever I end up in New Zealand. Continuing on the cycling was smooth and easy until I got to Hvolsvöllur where suddenly the wind from the North grew much stronger. I stopped a bit further on near Hella and lay in the grass reading for two hours waiting for the wind to die down, before continuing east. It was obvious that I was getting closer to the big towns as traffic was getting heavier despite the late hour, but drivers were courteous and I got in to a great clean campsite in Selfoss by 9:30pm. Had a quick dinner of sandwiches and soup before heading to my last night in a tent in Iceland.

The awesome overlook halfway up Skógafoss

My new buds Andreas and Sabine

Behind the magnificent Seljalandsfoss

The Ring is complete!

I woke up early by 8am but was not too eager to head out on the road so I lay around reading for a long time before breakfast and finally packing up my gear for the last time. I was not feeling ready to be done with the tour, and was not enjoying the cycling along the busy road towards Reykjavik. The climb from Hveragerði up over Hellisheiði was one I had expected and dreaded for a while but it wash´t too bad actually and there was a wide enough shoulder to be comfortable next to all the trucks and buses going up the hill. Once across I passed Hellisheiðarvirkjun, one of the largest geothermal power plants in the world. I wish I could say that the rest of the ride was more enjoyable, but traffic was heavy with everyone preparing for the Verslunarmannahelgi holiday weekend coming up so I had to concentrate on staying within the 50 cm shoulder I was afforded and not being blown onto the road by the strong northerly wind. I was relieved when I made it into town and got on the cycling paths, where there were many locals commuting home from work. I found quickly recognised where I was and easily found my way back towards Kópavogur. I rolled into the driveway of my Aunt´s house while she was sitting on the porch enjoying the gorgeous sunshine, thus completing my three week long tour of the land of fire and ice!

Making sure the camera is on!

Holding the line along the narrow shoulder

Arrived in Reykjavík!

What´s next?

The next few days I will be in Kópavogur, visiting family and just relaxing. Sunday night I fly to Stockholm and the plan is to cycle down from there to our home in Småland, not far from Nässjö. Hopefully I'll be writing from there as well!

And finally...

Some stats from the trip:

Number of days cycling: 19

Total distance: 2029km / 1260 miles

Average per day: 107km/day 66 miles/day

Total ascent: about 22,000 meters! 

Number of flats: 0 !

Number of breakdowns: 0 !

Weight lost: about 4kg (still haven't shaved the beard though)

Approaching Eyjafjallajökull

Approaching Eyjafjallajökull - July 30

Leaving Kirkjubæjarklaustur the road turned southwest across an old lava field and then across Mýrdalssandur, a similar sandy floodplain as I´d crossed the previous days, now only south of the volcanos like Katla under the glacier Mýrdalsjökull. Not too long after starting, I caught up with an Austrian couple, Andreas and Sabine, that were heading to Vík for the day. We rode together for a few kilometres chatting about this and that. They had been touring Albania the previous summer and go on a trip almost every year! When I stopped for lunch later on, it was in a quiet little spot next to a creek not far from Þykkvabæjarklaustur. I learned the story of Katla, a witch that gave name to the volcano not far away. She had a pair of magic breeches! They would lend her the strength of running as far as she'd like without ever getting tired. I wish I had a pair of those! She once killed a man who borrowed them without her permission, so that he could gather all the sheep in the fields before the farmer came home! The rest of the way to Vík was rather quiet, passing all the lupines that had been planted in the sands to prevent erosion and keep the sand from building up on and closing the road. At Vík there was the first real climb in several days and once over that the landscape changed completely. Suddenly I was cycling through farmland with high cliffs on the right to the north, that used to be sea cliffs long ago before the sea receded. It was cloudy also, but once I got closer Eyjafjallajökull poked out of the clouds momentarily so I knew I was getting close to my stop for the night. I pulled in to Skógar at about 7pm, with plenty of time to eat, set up camp and have a look at the majestic Skógafoss before heading to bed.

Cycling through the "Hraun" by Mýrdalssandur

Eyjafjallajökull poking out of the clouds

My campsite by Skógafoss

Jökull this Jökull that

Jökull this Jökull that - July 28

Sunday means Icelanders sleep in so the supermarket didn´t open until 12 o´clock. No matter though since I like to sleep in also. BUT! This meant I missed the nice weather in the morning and had 5-6 hours of rain during the afternoon while I was riding. It was flat and the wind was in my favour though, so it was nice cruising along the coast, with a beautiful view of the mountains and the glacier outflows to my right. Everything so well coordinated, the names of the mountains corresponding to the names of the glaciers and the rivers and also the farms. I had already gone 40 miles before I stopped for dinner, a miserable affair in the rain, but tasty all the same. I later learned that the area I was passing, Suðursveit is one of the wettest parts of Iceland so I'm at least glad I got to experience a typical Suðursveit day! I got to Jökulsárslón and had to stop to see the icebergs. Explaining the icebergs, the glacier Vatnajökull used to be a lot smaller when settlers first arrived, but grew a lot until the late 19th century and is now slowly receding again. The receding glacier has left behind a lagoon where parts of the glacier breaks off to form icebergs floating around with the tide. The tide was coming in as I was there so I saw massive chunks of ice crashing into each other, some breaking apart and flipping over, really cool to watch! Once I left the lagoon and started heading towards fjallsjökull, I got my first proper tailwind of the whole trip and really started flying. I was going at least 15mph (24km/h), but at times up to 22mph (35km/h) even on the flats with a fully loaded touring bike! Compare that to my previous average of about 11mph (17km/h) and going about 19mph (30km/h) in the ironman. As I turned around Öræfi, where Iceland´s highest mountain is found, the rain also stopped and although wet and cold I finished the last 25km to the national park at Skaftafell. I took down some bread and cheese for a quick dinner, quietly set up my tent and went to bed amongst perhaps 100 other tents with other travellers.

Leaving Höfn - first distance marker back to Reykjavík!

Cold and wet by iceberg lagoon

Arrived to Skaftafell!

Crossing the sands - July 29

The sun was out when I woke so left all my gear behind and headed out for a hike through the national park to see Svartifoss. I remember it as well from 20 years past, but it was more beautiful than I remember! Black basalt columns create a spectacular backdrop to the waterfall, which with little surprise reminded me a lot of Hallgrímskirkjan in Reykjavík. Later on the hike I met some volunteers from Britain the US and the Netherlands who were fixing the trails as part of the Iceland Conservation Volunteers group. Not a bad way to spend a summer, traveling Iceland and working for a while in the national parks! Back at the visitors centre I read about the volcanic eruptions in 1362 and 1996 under Vatnajökull. It was interesting to read about the one in 1362 because basically the whole area I had cycled through the previous day had been covered in ash and pumice and later flooded during the eruption, destroying farms and killing hundreds. In 1996 there was another massive eruption which flooded the plains below the glacier. The floodwaters were equivalent to a river larger than any on earth except the Amazon. It destroyed the highway connecting east and west, washing way the bridges that had only been built in the 70´s finally connecting the Öræfi region to the western part of Iceland. Leaving Skaftafell I stopped only about 2 miles out at a memorial to those floods, with a massive piece of mangled steel from the destroyed bridge on display. But just as I got off my bike, another cyclist pulled up who I recognised from earlier in the trip when climbing Öxnadalsheiði to Akureyri! It was Scott, an American with a bushy white beard who I had also heard about from the British cyclist Dan that I spoke to at Mývatn. Scott was on the last few days of a 5200 mile tour that started in April of Ireland, Scotland, Norway, the Faroes and Iceland! It was terrific talking to him, he said he would do a tour like that every 5 years, while going on long hiking or kayaking trips the other years. We talked for about 45 minutes before he took off to take advantage of the tail wind that had picked up. Unfortunately that meant that I was going into the wind on my way east. It was quite tough, as I was crossing the desolate sands and floodplain of Skeiðarásandur with a long straight road ahead of me and the wind in my face. Fortunately it was sunny, and I had a shorter ride this day so it wash´t long until I had crossed the sands and had about 15 miles before arriving to Kirkjubæjarklaustur. Arriving at the campsite I saw several people that I´d seen on the hike earlier in the day at Skaftafell, and even a Romanian guy I had spoken to briefly in Sauðarkókur about 10 days earlier. It's quite amazing how small the world can be, especially when travelling and having the time to observe and meet people!

Selfie at Svartifoss

The beautiful Svartifoss

Meeting Scott - beards unite!

Food! Skýr and Hangikjötssalat!

Food! Skýr and Hangikjötssalat!

I haven´t written anything yet about eating on the road so I thought I´d change that. Mostly I have Skýr with muesli for breakfast along with some rye bread and cheese. My aunt also introduced me to something called Hangikjötssalat, a wonderful blend of mayonnaise, smoked lamb, green beans and carrots that one spreads on bread! Amazingly delicious! I´ve also been using my JetBoil stove quite a bit to make soups or prepare some pasta dishes, blending in some chopped veggies like zucchini or broccoli. Not to forget also, that I´ve been eating outrageous amounts of chocolate on the road too, almost half a pound per day and then also copious amounts of chocolate covered raisins. I´m starting to miss the fresh greens from the Last Organic Outpost in Houston!

A typical lunch time meal - pasta with zucchini and some hangikjötssalat on rúgbrauð!

Hangikjötssalat - pure deliciousness

Fog Fog and more Fog - July 26

This time around, the sun had disappeared in the morning and been replaced by a dense fog that filled the entire fjord. It was also a bit chillier at around 10C which was a nice change. Leaving Reyðarfjörður there was a 6km long tunnel to the next fjord. It was newer and wider than the one by Ísafjörður and with less traffic. I stopped halfway and waited for a bit, contemplating in the silence that there were 3km both ahead and behind me out of the mountain and at least 1000m of rock on top of me! It was an eerie but really cool feeling, like being a mountain troll! The next fjords were easy riding, with hardly any significant rises, just undulating ups and downs. In fact, I used my gears much more than in previous riding as the road would go up and down every couple of hundred meters. The fog remained though so although there was fine visibility on the road I unfortunately couldn´t see any mountains or scenery. Arriving to Stöðvarfjörður after about 45km I passed a curious sign saying "Steinasafn Petru" or "Petras Stone Museum". I´m so glad I stopped because it was a wonderful museum of Icelandic minerals built on the personal collection of Petra Sveinsdottir. She was a woman born locally in the fjord who throughout the course of her life had built up an exceptional collection of different rocks and minerals including Obsidian, Icelandic Spar, Opal and more. It was all set in a beautiful garden with incredible flowers proving that even in Iceland you can have a colourful garden. There were also examples of eggs from different local birds, and also collections of playing cards, handkerchiefs, keychains and pens! The boy who sold me the entry ticket was also Petras great-grandson. After having spent more time than expected in Stöðvarfjörður I tried to hurry on and although the road was good it got quite late and I didn't quite make it to Djúpivogur as I had hoped, but found a nice camping spot on the side of the road about 6 miles out from town.

Petras rock museum and garden

A rock used as a seat for kids with pictures of the lucky little ones!

Foggy evening at Berufjörður

Black beaches and lagoons of Swans - July 27

With the ever changing Icelandic weather, this morning brought back the sun and the fog was drifting away revealing staggeringly high mountains all around me! As I was breaking down my tent I saw a family cycling south on the road who I later caught up with. They were a family of four from Belgium that had crossed Iceland through the interior at Kjölur, a very tough ride! They had a lot of experience touring also in France, Czech republic, Italy and other places, and were happy to share some stories. It was fun meeting some other cyclists again, but they were taking a more leisurely pace so I passed them and continued on. The scenery in the next fjords was beautiful, not with quite the dramatic rises and cliffs like in the West, but still incredibly beautiful. I had lunch at a place called Þvottá (Washing River) and it turned out to be the site of the beginning of Icelands conversion to Christianity, where the first baptisms had taken place. Despite my fondness of the Aesir gods, it was cool that even on such an unremarkable stop at a little picnic table it turned out to be such a historically significant site. Riding along towards Hvalnes I passed a stunning beach of black rocks and once turning the bend towards Lónsvik I had to stop at the Hvalnes lighthouse to admire the view! It was very peaceful there, sitting listening to the waves crashing and looking out across at the ominous mountains across the bay near my destination for the day, Höfn. As I continued along the bay I passed a lagoon where there must have been at least 300 swans lazily floating around and feeding. It was an incredible sight and I stopped briefly to pick out some beautiful swan feathers left on the shore. The sun grew stronger in the late afternoon and the rest of the ride was very pleasant and quick. Passing through another short tunnel I arrived to Höfn to a stunning sunset. After setting up my tent I went into town to admire my first view of Icelands largest glacier, Vatnajökull. The ice in parts seemed to flow all the way down to the shore and reflected the dying sunlight beautifully. No wonder one of Icelands most famous artists Svavar Guðnason got much of his inspiration from the natural surroundings of his home town Höfn. I took too long admiring the view though, so the restaurants were all closing in town and I had to resort to another meal of a burger at the local N1 rest-stop near the campgrounds. I´ll just have to wait for a good meal and a beer until Selfoss or back in Reykjavík!

Two Belgians cycling up the road near Djúpivogur

One of the many single lane bridges in Iceland - this one at Hofsá in Álftafjörður

A bouquet of Swan feathers in Lónsvik!

Sunset at Höfn with outlet glaciers from Vatnajökull nearly touching the water

Crossing Fjöllum

Crossing Fjöllum - July 24

With the late night adventures the previous night, I again found myself not getting started until about noon. I packed up quickly and headed down to see Dettifoss before taking off for the days ride. The rumbling only got louder and louder with the approach, and suddenly it was there. I remember being astounded when I first saw Dettifoss in 1993, but it was even larger and more impressive than I remember. After staring into the hypnotising masses of water tumbling down and taking some photos of the double rainbow created by the sunny day and the large amounts of mist, I got back on my bike and set off for what I knew was going to be a very long day. The wind was in my back for maybe the first 10km but then that was over and I was struggling in low gears for the rest of the way. The first 40km or so was through a barren landscape, mostly rocks with a few patches of grass here and there. I crossed the Jökulsá a Fjöllum river over what must be the only suspension bridge in Iceland, and it really felt like I was about to cross a dry, unpopulated desert. I had been warned that there wouldn´t be any place to get water between Mývatn and Egilsstaðir, and I had about 4 liters with me just in case. However, after leaving the basin by Jökulsá there were plenty of little creeks. It seems that the only truly dry stage of my ride was by Dettifoss. With the strong wind though, I had to drop the chain into the granny ring even on the flats and as my legs were still feeling the previous days ride, I decided to seek refuge behind a large mound of gravel and take a nap. That moment was the closest I´ve felt to quitting on the whole ride! But I was dozens of miles from anywhere so after a brilliant hours nap I pulled myself together, got on my bike and meter by meter slowly continued up the mountain into the wind. With the setting sun in the northwest I continuously had my shadow to keep me company on my right, it was nice having a partner climbing the same mountains even though it was only my shadow! After about an hours climb I found myself in Langidalur which turned out to be the highest portion of the entire route. I could see more mountains to the east and worryingly some large dark clouds. Out of the valley I reached the junction with the road to Vopnafjörður and read on a sign that I was near the area that had inspired Halldór Laxness to write "Independent People"! Very interesting since I´m about to re-read it! After a while riding through a calm beautiful flat area I started descending to what I knew was Jökuldalur, but I was enveloped by the fog that I had seen earlier as the dark clouds, and could now hardly see a thing. I continued as long as I felt safe and set up camp on a patch of grass near a waterfall coming down the side of the mountain. On a curious note, I realised as I went to sleep that I had not spoken to a single person the entire day and not set foot inside of a building either. A strange solitary but wonderful day!

The rainbow at Dettifoss is coming out my beard!

The hypnotising waters of Dettifoss

My refuge from the strong headwinds and site of a great nap

In Langidalur, highest portion of the ring road!

Descending into the fog

Arriving to the East Fjords! - July 25

Today I truly felt that I had left the most difficult parts behind me, and was eager to restock in Egilstaðir and see the ocean again in the East Fjords! The fog from the previous night had burned away with the sun, and I continued down the valley which turned into more like a gorge towards the end. After one more steep climb and a pleasant 20km more down to Egilsstaðir I picked up some groceries, and veered off the ring road that takes a more direct route, and instead went east to the fjords. Again, I thought I had left the difficult parts behind me but I should have known the wind was going to come from the east straight through the valley I was climbing. I had to deal with some newly paved roads with loose gravel, but the valley was stunning and I was glad to be back in an area the reminded me of the west fjords. Arriving to Reyðarfjörður I had gone 50 miles but I was tired and eager for a hot shower so I found the campsite and set up my tent. After a hot shower and changing into clean clothes I walked into town to find a place to eat. The women´s Euro Cup was on tv so I watched Norway defeat Denmark in the semis, while I enjoyed another burger and Egils Appelsin. Back at camp I had a long conversation with two Germans, one only 19 and the other already retired. It was fun speaking German, and hearing about their very different lives, especially since one was just heading out into adulthood and the other had left work behind and was now traveling the world. I also spoke with some Icelanders, who were surprised I could speak Icelandic. It turns out that I look foreign, but it´s great to be able to connect with people in their language and as such I found out that this particular Icelander was from Akranes that I had passed on my first day, but whose family was from Dýrafjörður just next to where my familys origin! I went to sleep late, but it had been a fun evening and it was great to be back by the coast!

My camp site in the morning when all the fog was gone

First glimpse of the Atlantic since Akureyri!

Beautiful surroundings in Reyðarfjörður