July 19, 2020
Day 1 - 15% gradients and cyclists galore
Keflavík Airport to Þingvallavatn
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Day 1 - Keflavík airport to Þingvallavatn campsite - 60 miles
Waking up was a struggle. I'd gone to bed far too late last night (11:30) after putting the finishing touches to my packing, and the 4:00am wakeup was brutal. My dad kindly drove me the 30 mins to Luton airport where we were instantly ripped off by their ridiculous prices- £4 for a 5 minute dropoff, and a non-refundable £2 for luggage trolley hire. I've never been to another airport as greedy as this. The place itself wasn't quite as empty as I thought it would be. There were still lots of people queuing up at this early hour of the morning and the check-in system had been changed to something almost completely automated where you weighed your bags yourself and attached a printed label that was dispensed from the machine. The only thing I actually had to do was drop off my luggage at the far-flung reaches of the oversize baggage compartment.
I'm normally pretty good at sleeping in uncomfortable spots like plane seats, but on this journey I didn't have a chance. Wedged in the middle seat between 2 stocky Icelanders who excercised full dominance over both central armrests, feeling packed in like a sardine. Intermittent 15 minutes of sleep here and there was all I managed, although the flight wasn't too long, clocking in at just under 3 hours. At least Reykjavík airport was nice and quiet though. I had paid the €50 testing fee online before arrival so just had to show my QR code on the Icelandic Covid-19 app, and was directed into a series of booths manned by people wearing full protective bodysuits. This was something I was dreading after hearing some of my friends' stories, and yep, it was pretty nasty. The throat swab was easy, but the nose swab kept going deeper and deeper. I'm pretty sure I embarrassed myself by letting out an audible gasp!
The airport has this awesome outbuilding for assembling bicycles, about the size of a large shipping container, and dubbed the 'bike pit'. The place was absolutely chock full of other people's discarded cardboard boxes which gave me hope for finding one easily on the way back. I met my first (of many) cycle tourers here- a Polish quartet who had slept in the area overnight and were gearing up for a 2 week trip like me. It seemed to take forever to arrange my kit and get going this time, but once I did, progress was good. There was a firm tailwind on the 20 mile stretch to the capital area which was perfect to ease myself in on the first day. I had read beforehand that lots of the gas stations stock basic camping equipment, so I made a very quick trip inside to pick myself up one. With these cyclinders, I can never tell how much I've used or how much I need so just went with the smallest one assuming I could easily restock in case of running out.
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As the city neared, the road split into multiple lanes, got busier, and the wide shoulder for cycling disappeared so I headed into the suburbs to navigate the mazy warren of paths. This was really slow progress because I was having to check maps.me every minute to work out a route skirting the outskirts of Reykjavík. At a first glance, Iceland seems like a very active place considering the huge numbers of joggers and cyclists I saw, combined with recreational facilities like gyms and mini football pitches on every corner. After getting lost a few times, and ending up on a track which had the most ridiculous rollercoaster-like corrugations I've ever seen, I finally got onto the road I was aiming for; a steady climb into the mountains following a geothermal pipe line. It looked like the quickest and quietest route inland for a bicycle.
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Still enjoying a brisk tailwind, the climb wasn't much of an issue, and I came across a group of cyclists coming in the other direction, faces set in a grimace, fighting hard against the wind even while descending. It looked like such a slog and I was very grateful for the favourable weather forecast for the next few days. The scenery got more and more spectacular even though it was no more than 20 miles from Iceland's biggest population hub. Long steady inclines turned into short, sharp, exhausting climbs, each one heralded by a series of dreaded '13%, 17%, 15%' signs. So much for the gentle first day! I actually let my morale drop towards the end- if I was finding the road quite tough with a tailwind, how was I going to manage when I inevitably hit the notorious rain and wind? This is an annoying habit of mine, with so much free time inside my own head while cycling, I tend to find a small detail and spend forever ruminating about it until it's a much bigger issue than it actually is.
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The campsite was a little further along a gravel road skirting the south of Þingvallavatn lake. That's roughly pronounced thing-vatla-vat-n (with the ending 'n' usually done as a quick soft exhale rather than an actual spoken syllable). I always like make an effort to get the pronuncations somewhat correct before I visit a new country. There were also a bunch of basic Icelandic phrases that I commited to memory prior to arriving, but I never needed any of them because every Icelander I met had such a good grasp of English and would always address you in English when it's obvious you're a tourist.
Reception at the campsite was closed for the evening so I pitched up my tent, inflated my new sleeping pad, laid down on it for a few seconds and before I knew it, was fast asleep without cooking/eating/unpacking. That's the first time I've collapsed instantly into a deep sleep like that on a cycling tour, so I must've been tired!
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2 years ago
Today's ride: 60 miles (97 km)
Total: 60 miles (97 km)
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