July 26, 2020
Day 8 - Into the stunning Eastfjords
Reyðarfjörður to Fossardalur
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Day 8 - Reyðarfjörður to Fossardalur - 68 miles
The good news was that the top of my tent didn't leak any more during the night. The bad news was that I must've left a tiny bit of my groundsheet poking out from underneath the tent and rain had managed to pool underneath, soaking through my useless tent floor and onto my sleeping bag. It wasn't that wet, but it's bit worrying and I have no idea what really happens if down material gets wet.
Morning was dry, albeit still overcast, and the views along the fjord in the clean cool air were lovely. It felt great to be cycling in yet another different type of landscape. Almost straight away came a 6km tunnel, the first of the trip, and it was surprisingly good fun! The lack of wind meant I could easily reach a good speed, it was almost entirely devoid of traffic, and the echoing acoustics were amazing. I spent the entire time whistling and singing at the top of my lungs- Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, Avicii's Feeling Good, and Far Over the Misty Mountains from the Hobbit movie were the ones that would be stuck in my head for the rest of the day. I was almost disappointed where I emerged back out into the daylight and had to remind myself I had come on a cycling trip for the amazing scenery, not for the juvenile amusement of making loud noises in tunnels!
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Cycling up the side of Fáskrúðsfjörður, there was patches of bright blue sky over the sea that were becoming more and more frequent. Turning south an hour later and the sun finally emerged for the first time in 4 days. This was absolutely perfect timing because the clouds had also lifted from ahead, revealing a jagged row of mountains like the spine of a dragon rising out of the next fjord along. It's not often I'm in complete awe of the scenery, but this sight with the rays of light shining down had me speechless. It's something that a camera will never manage to do justice. Almost 30 mins passed before I realised that I had my drone with me, and the backdrop with virtually no wind made the perfect setting. Just like before, I had to try and cycle with one hand while wobbly moving the drone with my controller in the other arm. It took a lot of trial and error but I eventually got some shots I was happy with. There was a tiny village perched by the water's edge called Stöðvarfjörður and I was convinced they must've had the best view in the whole of Iceland- I can only imagine how spectacular the place looks with a coat of snow in the winter. And what a surprise, just like previous villages, there was a selection of enviable football pitches for the small handful of kids to choose from.
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Rounding the corner into another inlet, and somehow the views might have been even better. The road hugged the walls of the fjord tightly and dizzying spires of rock loomed above, shaped into weird formations like the stepped ziggurats of ancient civilisations. I can't believe my camera battery didn't run flat considering the constant photo stops along the way. I'm so glad I took this route through the Eastfjords instead of taking the inland shortcut from Egilsstaðir which followed the 95 or the 939 Öxi pass route.
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The last section of the my route, heading into the long snaking Berufjörður, is where the so-far idyllic day started to go downhill. A strong headwind kicked in out of nowhere and I still had 18 miles to go to reach the campsite I wanted to stop at. Progress was incredibly slow, between 5-7mph on the flats, similar to what I was doing on the gravel corrugated route in the highlands. During one of my frequent stops to check a map app, a local guy from a nearby farm came over to ask me if everything was ok. He offered me some meat and eggs and a temporary respite at the farm, but I politely declined. Minutes later I insantly regretted turning the offer down, which is something I do all too often on cycle trips. The road soon passed 2 campsites, and I was sorely tempted to stop at one of them, but I convinced myself to soldier on because otherwise the distance for tomorrow's planned destination was more than I fancied. The next few hours into the wind made me so tired that I began to scan the roadside for a wildcamping spot in case anything ideal appeared, even though it must've been only 5 miles to the campsite. Reaching the end of the fjord was something I was looking forward to because it meant turning 180 degrees and going back the way I came on the other side. A guaranteed strong tailwind right? Nope, it was still a roaring headwind, blowing straight down from the mountain gullies on this side. That really wound me up because it felt oh so unfair to have headwind both ways! Shouting insults at the wind helped me to make it to the turnoff where the campsite was off though. The day hadn't finished tormenting me yet and I was faced with an almost comically steep gravel climb up to the raised valley. There was no way I could've got up there with fresh legs, let alone tired ones, so resigned myself to pushing my bike the last depressing kilometre.
The campsite was very nice though, definitely in my top 2 or 3 for the trip. The older lady who took my payment is very friendly and was surprised to see that I was from England. Apparently they don't see many British visitors at all, despite us being in such close proximity to Iceland.
Today's ride: 68 miles (109 km)
Total: 491 miles (790 km)
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