August 2, 2000
The Way To Egilsstadir
On the road south to Egilsstadir, I met a Dutch cyclist coming north. I hadn't seen another cyclist for almost a week, so was glad of the distraction as I crossed over to his side, a man about my age and by ways of introduction ask was he going around the Ring Road. No, he replied and added "I intend to go inland to Askja." He continued while unfolding a map and running his finger along the road to Askja "After Askja, I'd like to go southwest on this track" and points to a double broken line marked F910, then added in a pessimistic tone "I don't know if it can be done. The girl at the campsite at Egilsstadir said that 5 years ago, 4 of my countrymen were picked up by a convoy of Landrovers after having pushed for 80 km across sand with very little food and water left."
I told him that I'd like to go this way too, southwest on the F910, but after hearing about the hardship of the 4 Dutchmen, say I'll probably return from Askja to the Ring Road. "Perhaps" he interjects "we could travel together." I reply that I would like to travel together, but at the moment I'm on my way to Egilsstadir.
After stopping at the supermarket and lunch in aforesaid town, I developed a sore back in the afternoon on the road onwards, together with discomfort sitting in the saddle for long. I was thinking its the aluminium bike frame perhaps isn't intended for all day riding. The sore back could be the weight of the rucksack, which contains my camping gear. Tomorrow I will experiment by putting most of the weight in the pannier to see if it makes any difference.
The next day I thought that my adventure had come to an end and I would be catching a bus back to Reykjavik.
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