Bikepacking Iceland Jun/Jul 2013
Replies: 2 - Last Post: Oct 16, 2012 3:10 PM Last Post By: adventureproject
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Bikepacking Iceland Jun/Jul 2013
Hi Adventure Cyclists!Going to Iceland June and July next year for an excruciating and painful trip by bike around the north-western fijords, maybe 4 weeks.
If you like aching muscles, wind and rain in your face, trying to pitch a tent while a gale is blowing, being wet and miserable in a cold damp sleeping bag, drinking über-expensive beer, and not seeing trees for a month - then I'd like to hear from you.
Iceland is extreme, and I love extreme climates, and to test myself to the limit in them. If you think the above is bad, just wait: I'm English, I can recite Monty Python for hours, I have the most politically incorrect humour, I love beer and wine, I'm vegetarian, and I love sixties music. Just for the record: I hate lycra, mobile phones, iPads, fancy bikes, people who use the expression "At the end of the day......"!
I'm looking for a cycling buddy, someone with experience, someone who's travelled and is fun to be with in extreme situations. Thanks.
ANDY
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I'm not coming with you, but you may find these comments interesting.to test myself to the limit in them
It depends what your own personal limit is, but there is substantially more challenging cycling, with even fewer trees, in the Icelandic interior than in the Westfjords.I love beer and wine
As you notice, an expensive habit to indulge in Iceland. But perhaps a significant issue is that you won't find many places where you can get alcohol - beyond the 2.25% light beer that can be sold anywhere - in sparsely populated areas like the Westfjords.being wet and miserable in a cold damp sleeping bag
Is this owning up to being incompetent and having inferior equipment? I've been there several times and never got my sleeping bag wet, nor found conditions so cold I didn't warm up inside the tent. And I have camped through some storms that flattened numerous tents, and seen snow fall on higher ground just a couple of hundred metres above my location.I'm vegetarian
That is a bit of a pain in Iceland, though you'll get by. The fish is so good.
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We went to Iceland expecting to be challenged in this extreme way and it certainly has the potential to give you everything painful that you wish for. Though at the end of the day we avoided the wet sleeping bags and sado masochism you seem to desire. Still if that's your thing I'm sure you'll have a blast. The Western fjords are magic, the riding unlike anything else I've experienced and the potential for challenging rides great, especially if you venture into the interior. We had particular 'fun' hauling tandems and kids around the Svalvogar circuit. And the riding out towards Djupavik is unreal. Have you put a notice on the CTC touring forum? You may find a buddy there. I found a few takers interested in cycling the Mongol rally so anything is possible.
