I was awakened rudely about 2:30 AM by a trmendous increase in the wind. The tent was shaking enough that I dug out all my spare tent pegs and went out into the rain to make sure every point possible was secure. Back in the tent, I dozed fitfully as the noise increased. I had set the tent in line with the prevailing wind, and since this was more or less in line with the valley and parallel to the enclosing mountains I thought I would be able to ride it out. Wrong. A sudden guest came from the side about an hour after I first noticed the wind and really got me thinking. There was nothing I could do though so I just hunkered down in the sleeping bag an listened to the storm. About 3:30, another gust hit me from the side, and this time the tent didn't hold. The side of the tent was suddenly in my face and it obvious that the whole thing was aboout to go. I pulled on my rain gear and shoes and got out of the tent. The wind had hit the side so violently that two of the pegs attached to guy lines had been pulled free from the ground and the poles they were holding bent. The the only thing to do was collapse the tent to prevent further damage. I couln't sleep in it now, so I dug out my bag, mattress and inflatable pillow and clutching all that tightly went into the shower block to make my bed on the floor. I put my bike on top of the tent to try to keep it from blowing away. It was very difficult to get back to sleep, but I managed to doze for another hour or so. I decided to try to rescue the rest of my gear, and eventually I got everything moved into the shower block. I made breakfast on the floor, and considered my options. Unless I got the poles repaired, I was done camping, so it seemed that the logical thing to do was to get back to Reykjavik and find replacements. As I packed up, I realized I was two tent pegs shy of a full load, so I went back to look for them. Apparently, the final gust had been so violent that the pegs were catapulted into the next field as they were nowhere near the place the tent had been. I gave up looking, and got the bike and trailer assembled. The wind was still howling, and I couldn't open the front gate to the campground against its force.Luckily there was another gate, but it too was hard to open. And I had to keep the sheep in while getting my bike out.

The ride down the valley to Hvalfjordur was fast, and riding down the fjord toward the sea even faster. The wind blew me off the road twice, and tried its best to blow me across the road seveal times. There wasn't much traffic on this road, but once I reached the end of the fjord and was back on the ring road, that changed. The direction of the wind changed, too, and was now right in my face. The shoulder wasn't very good, and while this had not been a concern on the trip into the fjord the day before, now it was scary. Gusts would alternately push me into traffic or off the road altogether, and it was very slow going anyway and became difficult to stay upright. I got off to push, and got no further than the first side track before being forced to call it quits. With incredible timing, a taxi/van was just coming up from the tunnel under the fjord, and I flagged him down.

The ride into Reykjavik was uneventful. The driver told me they were stopping people with caravans from travelling due to wind, which didn't surprise me much. I got let off at the campground in Reykjavik, and went off in search of a hotel. Sue was due to leave that afternoon, so I rode to her hotel first. To say the least, she was surprised. I was able to book a room for two nights in the same hotel which had kitchen facilities, and after getting all my gear hung up inside to dry, and seeing Sue off to the airport, I crashed. I woke up from my nap just in time to get to the state liquor store for a bottle of wine and picked up a microwave dinner on the way back to the hotel. Dinner over, I crashed out again, wondering what my next move should be.

No photos today.

A little note on the wind: I've been through one hurricane and too close to four tornadoes. The wind in Iceland that damaged my tent was not as bad as that (close to hurricane strength, though). It was the unpredictability of it that surprised me. If I had know then what I know now (when have you heard that before?) I would have prepared differently. Mostly, I would have aken a different tent. Mt tent is a Hilleberg Nallo 2 GT, which I like because its light and roomy. But its a "tunnel" type tent. I would have been better off in a dome type tent as they present less area to the wind at the expense of less room (at least overhead) inside. Experience: what you get just after you need it most.