Adventures, Treats and Friendly Strangers

Burgers, Waffels and Candy

Day 6 of our epic Icelandic adventure, a day full of suprises, wrong turns and happy germans. We are The Bikepack, a dynamic duo from Gothenburg with an insatiable passion for cycling. We’re on a mission to show the world that biking isn’t just a means of transportation; it’s an incredible way to explore, stay fit, and have the time of your life.

Our current odyssey, the Iceland Divide, has taken us through a grueling yet exhilarating ten-day self-supported biking adventure. Picture this: wilderness, majestic glaciers, and fierce storms as our constant companions. We’ve hauled all our gear and provisions, covering a staggering 600 km with a 7,000-meter ascent.

It was a beautiful morning near Porisvatn when we woke up, eager to get going, so we packed our tents, mattresses, and sleeping bags quickly. We had a small paté each to get something in our stomachs before we started cycling the last stretch of Iceland’s worst road, F26! We would not really recommend this road, but it takes you south and is really your only choice if you want to cross Iceland right across. So, F26 does the job, and to be honest, we’d rather drive on a bad road than no road at all.

After cycling two kilometers, we finally saw the much-anticipated tarmac and the last 500 meters were a really steep descent. It was nice to be back on some tarmac, resting our bottoms from the vibrating surfaces we had been riding on for several days. After struggling on the gravel road, we could now easily roll on the asphalt, with the wind and downhill aiding us to the much-talked-about hotel!

The Desert Hotel could be what you would call it, since it was the last stop before you reached the next town, which we had already experienced. The place also had a gas station, but for us, the café and restaurant were the best part! 

We splurged on hamburgers, Coca Cola, waffles, and a delicious chocolate bar! You have to take the opportunities you get in Iceland; the coastline has a better selection of food, but inland, the selection is sparse.

We took the opportunity to charge our electronics, such as phones, cameras, bike computers, and power banks, all necessary when going on an adventure, but not always a given that the charge will last the whole adventure, depending on how much they are used. 

In a country like Iceland, one tends to want to immortalize most things, so it is important to plan one’s electricity usage with care or to remember to bring power banks so one can charge. For us, the priority was to have our mobiles charged, most important to be able to call in an emergency situation, but also to take photos, look up maps, and use a compass, etc.

Some of our best tips for dealing with electricity and power consumption when you are out on an adventure are to:

We left The Highland Center Hrauneyjar and continued our adventure, a bit shocked to have met and seen so many people again. We had gotten used to only having each other and occasionally meeting the occasional car or individual.

The tarmac continued straight ahead, but it was time for us to turn onto the gravel road leading up to the active volcano Hekla. This road was much better than the one we had been traveling on, but a relentless headwind made it difficult to enjoy either the road or the view. 

The sun had shone on us all morning, but the clouds had now gathered again, and the thicker the cloud cover became, the further the day went. It is no exaggeration to say that the weather in Iceland is highly unpredictable; you never really know what kind of weather you’ll get on a day, so you have to prepare for anything! 

There will be stops to take off or put on clothes, it is important to take these stops to avoid becoming too cold or too hot, as you need all the energy you have for cycling and not to use up your body’s energy to warm or cool yourself!

One of our sights for the day passed us by: a large volcanic crater with beautiful mixed colors. The colors flowed together and created a real phenomenon, but unfortunately we could only enjoy it from a distance this time, as both forces and time were needed to take us further south. 

We passed a couple where the man was carrying three older cameras. Alejandro, from Spain, offered to take a photo of us, and we gladly accepted. After some small talk and laughter, our paths diverged; we continued south and the Spaniards, north.

One might think that not much happens in the Icelandic wilderness, but they would be wrong; it’s what you make of it, and not doing anything can be very boring. To pass the time and let the kilometers go by, there is a wide range of activities going on most of the time. We cheer on drivers, listen and sing along to songs, egg lorries to honk at us, and so on.

Today, we received motivation from a busload of people who cheered for us when they met us; a minibus full of Germans stopped and offered us chocolate; another car stopped and offered us cookies. Most people think we’re crazy and roll their eyes when we tell them what we’re doing, but it often leads to a lot of laughter and funny stories. Probably, we ourselves become a story after the meeting and maybe we can inspire another crazy person to do the same challenge/adventure!

The power supplies for the day were running out, so we decided to find the best tent site possible. How did we manage with our camp spot?! It was flat and soft, in any case! 

After climbing large portions of the afternoon, we had made it up to and between the peaks, the wind was blowing fresh and we couldn’t find any sheltered spot anywhere, so we decided this would have to do. After some tricky work getting the tent up in the wind, it was time for a well-deserved dinner together with beer and peanuts. 

Another day was over, a day closer to our goal, we thought!!