Riding Around Westfjords Iceland (Photos)

[roguedog]

That looks amazing. Iceland is on the list. So many folks who have gone there just rave about it.

Thanks for the pix!

[arimajol]

I'm going in two weeks! We won't be biking, though. Not sure if we'll get to the Westfjords either, gonna play it by ear a bit.

Any particular spots or places you'd recommend not missing?

[fa63]

Thanks, everyone!

Originally Posted by LegendRider

What a great trip, though I'm sorry that you got sick.

I got deathly ill about halfway through my first trip to ride in France during the Tour. It was such a letdown to miss doing some of the famous climbs in the Alps.

Yeah, it was a bummer for sure but I am a "make lemonade out of lemons" kind of guy, so I changed my mindset and enjoyed the country in different ways. Another positive outcome of my illness was that it allowed me to drop my riding buddy off on a stretch where he would mostly have a tailwind, then pick him up when he got sick of riding into the headwind

Originally Posted by benb

Awesome.. that does stink you got sick though. Funny how that happens sometimes at the worst possible time.

Iceland looks like the absolute worst case scenario for high winds.. absolutely no cover so it must have been really grueling when it wasn't cooperating.

I find those long stretches where there is no tree cover and very high winds among the most taxing things you can encounter mentally, much worse than climbing!

It was mentally taxing indeed. The worst is actually when you are caught in cross winds. There was one climb where there was a really strong cross wind and on the descent, we were hanging on for dear life trying not to get blown off the road (with no guardrail to catch you if you went off). My heart rate on that descent was 180+ just out of pure terror and adrenaline.

Originally Posted by arimajol

I'm going in two weeks! We won't be biking, though. Not sure if we'll get to the Westfjords either, gonna play it by ear a bit.

Any particular spots or places you'd recommend not missing?

We played tourist for a couple of days and really enjoyed driving the Golden Circle (Gullfoss and Geysir, more specifically) from Reykjavik. I also thought that Seljalandsfoss was really neat.

If I was being a complete tourist, I would check out the excursion where they drive these monster trucks onto the glacier. This particular company left from Gullfoss so you could make it part of the Golden Circle loop.



If you do have a chance to explore Westfjords a little bit, I can highly recommend the guesthouse in Heydalur. There, they have thermal pools and hot pots, and a 23-year old parrot named Jakob along with bunch of other animals. The bread we had there was unbelievably delicious, and the food was incredibly tasty as well. My buddy had the lamb which he couldn't stop talking about, and I had the veggie lasagna since I am vegetarian which was also very very good. For me, our stay at Heydalur was one of the highlights of our trip.

[fa63]

Here is a video I took of the winds when we first got there:

https://youtube.com/shorts/x1ww1pIuDEI

[2000m2]

Wow, what a great adventure! Thanks for sharing the stunning pictures.
Sorry you fell ill, but sounds like you were still able to enjoy.

[redir]

That's nice but not as beautiful as New England

j/k

Absolutely stunning! My wife and I have been wanting to go there not for cycling but after seeing these pics why not?

BTW I love the pic of the water falls with the two ducks that personified look like they are there enjoying the beautiful view. Just a great shot!

[Mr. Pink]

Nice. On the list.

No trees!

GCN did a video around the time gravel bikes were hitting the market, and it was a Gravel vs. MTB face off with an overnighter in one of the cabins out on one of those roads. https://www.globalcyclingnetwork.com...te-all-rounder Awesome scenery. My camera wants to go.

[benb]

Originally Posted by fa63

It was mentally taxing indeed. The worst is actually when you are caught in cross winds. There was one climb where there was a really strong cross wind and on the descent, we were hanging on for dear life trying not to get blown off the road (with no guardrail to catch you if you went off). My heart rate on that descent was 180+ just out of pure terror and adrenaline.

Mt. Washington has crosswinds like that, but at least you're going really slow up the mountain when you hit them, and your HR is already 180+ by the time you get there. Fun stuff, I am embarrassed to say I dabbed both times I did the race. Both times I felt I could not keep the bike from going off the road, partly cause I was so tired.

We really want to go to Iceland.. in a few years my son will probably be strong enough to ride like this and I'll still be young enough to do it. The question would be my wife. I don't think she's ever really going to want to ride like that.

[LegendRider]

More cycling in Iceland:

https://youtu.be/GsAlxJjuY7E

https://youtu.be/4wHmo5-OvwQ

[bthomas515]

These are inspiring!

[rwsaunders]

Great photos and thanks for sharing.

[fa63]

I was too ill to ride but I drove my buddy over so he could ride a portion of the Rift course as we had originally planned. It turns out the Rift goes through some private land where they open the gates for the race but regular public isn't allowed to ride through... He rode about 12 miles out then turned around, but did get to sample the crazy volcanic landscape as well as one of the famous creek crossings.

Originally Posted by LegendRider

More cycling in Iceland:

https://youtu.be/GsAlxJjuY7E

https://youtu.be/4wHmo5-OvwQ

[reuben]

Originally Posted by LegendRider

More cycling in Iceland:

https://youtu.be/GsAlxJjuY7E

https://youtu.be/4wHmo5-OvwQ

More. Ron Bartle (1958), Horace Dall (1933), and some Rapha riders. Some of the scenes with the wind will likely look familiar to the OP, and hopefully not bring back bad memories, but rather obstacles overcome.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=MNwO-RJBH38

[clyde the point]

Thank you!

[Flinch]

Good on ya for the ride and pics!

When I lived in Iceland, ahem, 60 years ago, we had a saying that the weather that day would be...weather. The highest temp was 74 one summer, and the lowest winds were too high to record! OK, close.

Really miss the picnics at the many hot springs, and camping out sleeping on the thick moss that grows everywhere. Hope to go back for a visit.