To see lots of photos and read about previous Iceland trips, visit www.adventuremag.net and read my trip reports. If you know how to drive Facetube, click here If not, ask a teenager. Lots of trip photos on there - all mixed up with other tours however.
See here for a comprehensive (30 page) report on my first bike trip with Haddi - to The Western Fjords of Icleland. Or click here for a much shorter review of the 2009 trip for mates. Morocco photos and very early Sri Lanka reports are also on there.
Even better...... watch these video clips made by some guys who arrived at Keflavic airport, just as we were leaving. Great footage here
Best of all see this one It's really great. That's EXACTLY what it's like. We go to the same places. I've taken a load of video clips myself, but don't think I can match his film.
2010 Tours
WE DID IT - small group of riders, and no 4x4 support. Carried all our camping gear & food. We reached Landmannalaugar, via the Southern, river-crossings route, through bits of Black Desert, contrasting with emaral green lichens. Landmannalaugar is superb. The best bit of Iceland that I've seen.
Whilst on a roll - we decided to go for the massivley barren Sprengisandur route as well. 277km betweeen petrol stations, with 8 river crossings and just one little hut in the middle. It had only been opened up the previous week. With some difficulty - we made it - in one afternoon. Well, a thrirteen-hour afternoon actually. To be brutally honest, I don't think it was worth the effort. It's very very barren, and we had brutal cross-winds, then freezing fog later, after getting wet on on epartuiclarty river crossing.
No - we'll give the Sprengisandur a miss in future. I've wanted to do it for 10 years - but now I have - I think it's no big deal. The return route via Kjolar was much nicer, and far less demanding. We've now put togthert a "best of" route which wil show yuo some of the nicest bits of wilderness Icleand, without too much of the endurance factor.
September 2010: (UPDATE: September tour places now full) I'm aiming to provide a repeat trip in early September 2010. Most likely the 8th or 9th Sept through to 13th or 14th Sept - according to demand. It works well as a 5 or 6 day trip, with 3 or 4 days' riding. Email, or call me if interested. Since the article in the current edition (Sept 2010) of BIKE magazine, 3 people have signed up for this, so, as soon as we can agree flight times, it will be on.
A small select group of riders will attempt to reach Landmannalaugur. It's a pretty wild, failry remote region in the interior of Iceland, "behind" the famous volcano, some distance inland. The journey will use rough dirt roads and volcanic ash trails to get there, and there will be several unbridged rivers to cross. It could be tough, and it will be camping only. Guide price £795 which includes bike rental. Rough itinerary below - but it NEVER goes exactly to plan.
Iceland “Longest Day” Tour
(The one that featured in September's "Bike" Magazine)
Typically a 5 day long tour over the longest day of the year, the 2010 trip being 16th-21st June 2010
Itinerary:
(Subject to weather conditions and roads being open. Fun alternatives will be used if Highland roads are still closed in mid-June)
This year's itinerary:
Wednesday June 16th: Fly from London Heathrow (LHR) at 13:00. Flight F1451. Arrive Keflavic 15:00 local time. Pick up by hired mini-bus and transfer to Reykjavik. Option to visit The Blue Lagoon* en-route.Put up tents in the suburb of Hafnarfjordur near Haddi’s house. Alternative would be bunk-house accommodation in same campground, or a hotel in Reykjavik if this can be incorporated into flight prices. Option to eat out at Viking Pub.
Thursday June 17th: Mid-morning, pick up rental bikes and ride south to Krysuvik and east along the coast and up to Selfoss to view waterfall and visit supermarket (food shopping for the tour). Have lunch, then pick up gravel roads and skirt around the north side of Mount Hekla, Iceland’s largest active volcano.Head for our wilderness base of Landmannalaugar. Set up camp for the night near hot springs. A total of 6-8 hours riding.
Friday June 18th: Ride broadly North-West on mainly gravel roads with possible river crossings, to visit Geysir and its famous namesake “Strokkur”.Head to nearby Gulfoss to see the enormous waterfall and have lunch at the visitor centre.Pick up interior gravel roads again to head North-East into The Highlands. Amongst awe-inspiring scenery, settle down at Hveravellir for the night.Our campground is situated close to hot springs, small geysers and a hot pool where one can while away an hour or so, gazing at ice caps on either side.Probably 5 or 6 hours riding today, but with ample stops at Geysir & Gulfoss. Option of an evening ride if desired.
Saturday June 19th: Continue on gravel plains along a barren plateau, heading further and further North.Eventually joining paved roads again to arrive at the small town of Siglufjordur, a small fishing town on Iceland’s north coast.It is at this point, just 30 miles from the Arctic Circle, that we will celebrate the longest day of the year.There is often a party going on at one of the town’s bars. Camp at the small campground right in the village centre.(6-8 hours’ ride)
Sunday June 20th: With some difficulty, try and make a reasonably early start, as today we have a long ride south (300-350km).We have to get most of the way back to Reykjavik, and it will be a 10-12 hour day.We could use paved roads to save time & effort, but depending on the group’s preferences, we could take the more demanding off-road route like we did in 2009, which involved some slightly more technical trail riding and a river crossing.Final night’s camp at Husafell or Thingvellir.
Monday June 21Final “short hop” back to Reykjavik. Aim for no more than 2 hours’ ride to get back to the capital. Arrive back in Hafnafjordur no later than approx 11:30am. Drop off bikes and prepare to return to Keflavic for the flight home. In 2009 we took lunch in Reykjavic, before catching the public airport shuttle bus to Keflavic.(There may be time to fit in a quick re-visit to The Blue Lagoon here)Arrive Keflavic airport no later than 15:00 (ideally 14:00).16:10 – flight leaves for LHR. 20:10 – arrive LHR.
*The Blue Lagoon: Although a bit touristy, it’s a “must” when visiting Iceland. Although Marc’s group prefer to visit at the end of the tour, here are the reasons why I think it may work better at the start. The Blue Lagoon is quite a “shock” if you’ve just flown in, and have never been to Iceland before. Once you’ve ridden around Iceland for a few days, and seen many impressive geothermic features (hot springs, geysers, boiling mud pools etc), the impact of the Blue Lagoon will be far reduced. At the start of the trip, there is no great rush. After maybe an early start and long journey to LHR, it might not be the best idea to jump straight onto bikes and anyway, it would be too late in the day to get anywhere of interest. Also we don’t want to arrive in Siglufjordur before Saturday night. Although time is a little tight at the end of the tour, we do have half a little leeway on Monday morning.We need this in case of any incidents or breakdowns which may put the itinerary back.We could plan the Blue Lagoon in at the end, but any mishaps would blow it off the schedule.
Possible 2011 Tours
Due to the article in Bike Magazine, I have experienced an influx of enquiries for next years tours- as a result I am considering adding a few more tours in July & August to meet the demand. Although some of the earlier tours like the Longest Day Tour and Black Desert tour may initially look like they're filling up, don't hesitate to send an email if you're interested, as places may become available and there will be places on later tours.
Longest Day Tour: approx 15th to 20th June as a long weekend, or 18th to 23rd/ 24th June if we want to travel over the actual longest day, which I believe is 21st June 2011). Half road, half gravel trails -going close to the Arctic Circle (Siglufjordur, or similar) to celebrate the longest day. Ride North by road, return via barren upland interior with hot springs (Kjolur). 6-8 riders max.
Black Desert Tour: Mid to late July - to fit in after Bill's Alps tour (but before or just into, School Holidays). Something like 21st to 25th July 2011. Ride almost exclusively on gravel roads around SW Iceland, taking in lava
flows, volcanoes and some Black Desert.. Includes a two-night stay in Landmannalaugar, with a circular ride around Mount Hekla - Iceland's largest volcano. Lots of loose gravel, some black sand, and couple of optional
river crossings. Bill, plus up to max of 8 other riders...From the level of interest shown in the last few days, I guess all the above places are now taken.
Extra tour: Itinerary & Date TBC, with Haddi as main Guide if Bill is away on Alps tour. Early July or Mid August? 6-8 riders
Extra Tour: Bill can do one more tour if needed. Late August / Early September . 6-8 riders. | 
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