The Beat Down

There is a really good video (linked here) on YouTube about this ride that is worth watching. It is a must for anyone thinking about doing this because it doesn’t sugar coat how crazy the conditions can be in Iceland. The cyclists that put it together emphasize how hard some of the riding is – mostly due to the epically rough weather. It can feel like a real beat down. But something about the day always builds you back up and encourages you to keep going.

Today was definitely a beat down day. I woke up to a pretty steady rain coming down on my rain fly. It’s so nice to cuddle in the sleeping bag with a cup of coffee in the rain but at some point you’ve got to face the music and pack all of your wet gear back on the bike. To top it off, I also realized when I went to get my clothes from the pool locker room that the hotel manager had locked the door. John also sent me an early morning text that he had decided that he wanted to take a different direction for the trip. He wasn’t digging the wind and he was going to get a ride back into Isafjodur to rent a car.

So, it was a hectic morning and I was chomping at the bit to get the ride started. The hotel manager was nowhere to be found and he wouldn’t answer the phone numbers that he had posted on the front door. All of my riding clothes were in there so we decided that I would borrow some of John’s clothes and he would hopefully find the manager before his ride picked him up. That all worked like a charm and I headed out at 9:00 for a pretty 25 mile ride around a fjord. However, that all changed once I took a hard right and tackled a pretty steep climb to the top of a huge mesa.

The wind was absolutely howling up there. It was a steady 30-40 MPH headwind with a steady near freezing rain. It was a miserable slog and I had to stop every time a car or truck approached from the opposite direction because the wind drafts they would create would push me off the road. After about two hours of hard work (and what seemed like endless climbing), I finally crested into a long but cold descent into Holmavik. I was too cold to stop and check my maps so I ended up blowing 15 miles past our Airbnb. Fortunately, I landed at the N1 gas station. Our new German friend Stefan was there and he greeted me with a “Dude, I’ve done some crazy shit but that was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” We hung out in the N1 licking our wounds and I got a chicken sandwich and a cup of coffee. I was one sad sight – wind burned and soaked frozen to the core. Totally hollow and exhausted after just a 54 mile ride. Those conditions were epic indeed.

About 30 minutes later, John shows up with the rental car and we check into a beautiful Airbnb on a farm near a hotel with another awesome geothermal pool. I warmed up in the pool and had a great buffet dinner by a friendly Colombian chef. We ran into Tyler (our bike friend from Isafjodur). He is running a bike tour this week for Thompson Tours and they are all staying at that hotel. It was great to catch up and have a great meal. I also had a chance to dry out all of my gear. Literally everything I owned was dripping wet and caked in road grime. I was even able to dry out my gloves, hat and socks in the oven! This was the build up phase and I’m almost feeling whole again. Still little afraid to look at the weather forecast for tomorrow but will feel better after a good rest in a warm bed.