Kurious Oranj

I just came across this video on the Book of Faces and thought some here might find it interesting. It is a nice little video with some good footage. I started longer distance cycling (I do by no means qualify as an ultracyclist - 200K is as far as I can go) after I emigrated from Iceland so I have not done anything like this there but I know the Ring Road around Iceland like the back of my hand having lived in Iceland the first 31 years of my life. Too bad I don't understand Italian - I'd love to know what he is saying. Based on the weather conditions, this looks like late March to early April and I tip my helmet to him for doing this. Even fully supported, this is not easy.

Cycling is a very much a growing sport in Iceland and longer distance events seem to take place every other week now, at least over the summer months in case you are interested as the exchange rate is currently very favorable, at least if you pay with US dollars.

StephenH

I've been watching some of the randos locally and on facebook travel the world doing 1200k's, and this looks like a good route for some of them!
A couple of other links from googling "Iceland ultracycling", with some quotes and background information:
https://www.ultracyclingman.com/iceland/
https://www.reykjavikboulevard.com/om...ce-in-iceland/

In the video, it says "Alone by bike", but he's actually using a follow-car, and not even carrying a flat kit on the bike.

robertkat

Awesome. Iceland is on my to-do list of places to visit. I'd love to be able to get a nice touring bike and ride the ring road one summer.

awfulwaffle 

That's a lifetime cycling goal right there. I think that I'd be inclined to quit at the point where the wind blew me over and my gloves quite literally froze to my hands. That dude's a champ.

lhbernhardt

Yes, the Iceland ring road on fixed gear is on my list! Maybe 2015.

Luis

fiveshoes

If anyone's interested, I made a full length travel doc of my tour of Iceland. I wasn't covering the sort of daily distances to put it into the Ultra league (more like 80 - 100km per day) but hope it gives people an idea of the conditions and the sights aka the ups and downs. Full tour specifics can be found at earthwindandtyres.wordpress.com

https://vimeo.com/33245392

skidder

Nice. Reminds me of the Owens Valley/Mono Lake/Death Valley area in eastern California/western Nevada in the late winter/early spring. I've always had a fondness for stark, bleak landscapes.

MTBMaven

Biking around or motoing around the Ring Road is definitely a bucket list item. I've been to Iceland twice and it is top of my list of favorite places I've visited (6 of 7 continents so far). My wife and I drove the Ring Road counter-clockwise from Reykjavik round to west of Akureyri then through the interior to the Thingvellir area. AMAZING!

Thank you for sharing this information!

UPDATE: I watched the first video posted and while beautiful I found Iceland to be so much more beautiful in August.

karungguni

How much of it is still unpaved?

psee

Cool. A friend and a couple other guys are going touring from Reykjavik across the country to Husavik in the north next summer. Would love to come along but i'm so out of shape i would most likely die on the way. Still on the to-do list anyways. I enjoy trips to cold, barren places a thousand times more than any tropical paradise.

MTBMaven

We drove 3/4 of the Ring Road and it was all paved. I think ​the whole of the Ring Road is paved. We drove across the interior on a dirt road and saw bikers.