Words Rob Ainsley Photography Russell Burton, Getty Images
DESTINATION
Cycling the windswept volcanic outpost of Iceland is unlike anything else. Don’t expect European-style bike infrastructure, Alpine-style climbs, convenient cafés, shelter or reliable weather. Do expect long, empty stretches, austere sustenance at lonely petrol stations, capricious headwinds, rain – and fantastical, unique scenery that will make it all worthwhile: think fjords, lava-scaped peaks, waterfalls and hot springs to dip in.
And you’ll have it mostly to yourself, whether it’s cosy green farmland or desolate, exoplanetary grey wastes. Nature is firmly in control, but where there are people, this is a 21st-century country, developed, connected, safe, friendly – and pricey.
Iceland is now firmly on the biking radar. Reykjavík’s airport even has a special area for arrivals with bikes to reassemble. Adventurous bikepackers strike out directly across the island’s uninhabited, lunar interior, on a sparse network of gravel roads: you have to be confident wading rivers, being self-sufficient and wild-camping for days. For road bikes, there’s essentially one option: Route 1, the tarmac coastal main road that encircles the island in 1,400km, and its side-trips. It’s narrow and sometimes busy with traffic (including cycle-tourists).
Away from Route 1, things are limited for road riding as most secondary roads are gravel. However, for an on-tarmac taste of Iceland’s bizarre geology, the Snaefellsnes peninsula – 150km or so northeast of Reykjavík – offers decent, quiet roads to explore, round the coast and inland past villages such as Stykkishólmur. If you’re cycling there from Reykjavík along Route 1, one big road tunnel (Hvalfjörður) is closed to bikes; if the 50km detour up the people-free panoply of mountains and firths doesn’t appeal, take a bus – or hitch.
Big dates
The least unreliable weather is June to August. Temperatures might be in the low-20°Cs, and you have virtually round-the-clock daylight, with plenty of time to sit out any showers. MTB and gravel bike races include the 560km Westfjords Way Challenge in June and The Rift, a 200km gravel race through lava fields in July. Akureyri has an annual biking festival in July which includes road bike races and time trials.
Don’t miss
The ‘Golden Circle’, a 300km circuit of Iceland’s three big tourist draws: Þingvellir National Park, Geysir geothermal area, and Gullfoss waterfall. This can be a day trip
