mdilthey

I just published a bikepacking primer with Livestrong's online magazine. It's intended to be an introduction to bikepacking for cyclists that don't know much about it, or about bike touring. It tends to get a little "buzzfeedy" in editing to match the publication style, but I think it came out alright!

I took all the photos (except the obvious ones I didn't), so the photos tell a mini-narrative about my Iceland trip. That was my editor's idea.

Let me know if it's useful!

Livestrong.com: Why Bikepacking Is The Next Big Adventure Trend

alan s 

Looks good, but they sure do cram a lot of extra stuff on the page. Guess they need a way to pay the exorbitant fees content providers charge these days.

jefnvk

As one considering a bikepacking trip for my next adventure, it is a good primer, although I'd personally love more details. Never cared much for the "Buzzfeed" style of reporting, myself.

mdilthey

Long-form journalism is my preference too. I get my 'fix' writing on my blog. But, I'm not totally against writing one of these once in a while, if it means I can introduce something I'm passionate about to readers who crave this kind of writing style.

jefnvk

Well, that just begets the question: when is the long form journalism article coming out?

But seriously, if you are in the process of writing one (or already have one somewhere), I'd love to read it. I'm thinking about taking a bike to Iceland next summer to break in my new passport, as it was the first place I took my last one ten years ago, just trying to decide if it is something that is going to be doable when the fiancee (who is less adventuresome) is taken into consideration.

mdilthey

Bikepackers Magazine, sometime in the next few weeks. Neil is a friend and expressed interest in a good narrative, with all the details. Stay tuned!

nun

It's great to see bikepacking becoming more mainstream and I expect that the approach and gear will become increasingly popular for road touring. But in all this innovation and newness we should remember that it's all been done before by people in sepia toned photos and by folks like the Rough Stuff Fellowship starting in 1955.

About The RSF and a Little History.

nun

Don't attempt Iceland without full commitment. Someone that is not prepared to endure the wet, wind and cold....even in summer......with a smile will not do well in Iceland. Also, it can be a bit intimidating as the lack of population, particularly in the East, makes for some lonely riding. But Iceland can be enormously rewarding too if you go at it with courage.

jefnvk

If it were to happen, we'd remain in the inhabited West, between Reykjavik and the Golden Circle areas for a week and a half or so. Definitely not going to be a full on trip through the middle. My bigger concern is hills, not weather, the elements don't bother us as much (even knowing full well what that entails in that country).

Alternatively, I've thought about cheating and renting a car, and just doing day trips on the bikes, so we can cover more. It is just SO cheap to go there, I have a hard time justifying going elsewhere for my overseas vacation of the year.

nun

The East is a lot less isolated and the hills aren't as big as in the West. If you go into the interior then expect to be self sufficient for all the time you are off the ring road. Renting a car and doing bike day trips is probably wise for the inexperience cycling tourist/bikepacker.

jefnvk

?

I remember the exact opposite the last time I was there in regards to population, and the hills were just silly everywhere.

mdilthey

I'm talking with Logan at Bikepacking.com about posting up a route for Southwest Iceland this coming fall. I can tell you from experience that:

1. Campsites are frequent, closely spaced, fully stocked, comfortable, and cheap.

2. Iceland is busy in the summer. It would be hard to avoid people (for better or for worse) anywhere in Southwestern Iceland. You are not on your own, and even on the interior roads, it would be very difficult to die of starvation when a truck goes by at least every few hours.

3. The weather is bad and unpredictable, but with the right clothing, it would be very difficult to die of exposure.

All in all, don't worry. It's not THAT unforgiving. 1.5 million tourists are plowing around this year, you will be in good company next year. We saw a hundred bike tourists, including a kid on a fixed gear with a 60L Ortlieb backpack and several older, retired folk who were taking a very leisurely pace.

Iceland is ready for an awesome and safe bike tour. It's not the 80's anymore, the remote fishing villages all have wifi now


Of course... if you go to the far East, Iceland is a completely different story. But the area you're describing near the Golden Circle is quite comfortable.

jefnvk

Actually, wifi was the least of my concerns, it was ubiquitous when I was there ten years ago there when it was still hit or miss in Michigan!

Glad to have a vote of confidence, though. I'll look forward to reading your more in-depth article!

mdilthey

Sure. If you have time to kill, you can also click the link in my signature and scroll down a little. I have five "Bikepacking Iceland" blog posts in July that document my experience in a readable way, with all the details you're looking for.

Enjoy

nun

Opps, yes sorry I got my East and West switched.......East is isolated and the hills are bigger.

If you stick to the SW around Reykjavik you'll be just fine.

BigAura

Congrats!



and livestrong

Seriously: I'm glad to see you're making-it-happen!

mdilthey

Don't worry nun, I did that every single day I was over there. We're so American!

Thanks BigAura!

jefnvk

Yeah, that'll happen! Personally, my favorite area (when I was in a car and could get there in three days from Reykjavik) was the southeast, around Jokulsarlon and Hofn. I remember it well, such beauty!

But dang it, this isn't helping me be impartial balancing the wants of me and the abilities of others

Tourist in MSN

I wore bike shorts on about half the days, shorts/leg warmers or long pants the other half. Always had a jacket on over the long sleeve jersey, sometimes two. And never took the rain cover off of my helmet, but that was more for wind than for rain. There were two days I wore rain pants even though it was not raining, did that for the cold wind.

Two days I quit early due to wind, but two days kept going after my destination because I did not want to waste a tail wind. The wind will dictate your daily travels. Assuming you have a smartphone, get the app. I do not know if available for Apple or not. I did not have a sim card, only used it where I had wifi.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d....android&hl=en

I stayed in the west or interior, never east. Plan your trips around where you can find groceries. I carried too much food, the longest I went without seeing a place to buy groceries was 8 days. But that was in part because I wanted to spend time in the interior where there is almost nothing to buy. If you stay in the lower areas near the coast, there are more food sources and you might only have to carry a few days of food. Bonus and Samkaup are the primary chains. Bonus had butane mix type fuel canisters for a good price.

I still have a couple Iceland cycling maps. Send me a private message with your home mailing address, I will mail one to you. It warns you where the longer steep hills are so you can plan before you go. And has most of the campgrounds marked. I also stayed at four HI hostels, they have many all over the place.

I found that there was very little traffic before about 9:30am on the secondary roads, so I tried to get miles in early every day. But I tried to avoid the ring road as much as possible so I can't say much on that road other than the traffic was heavy and the shoulders were poor for cycling.

And regarding the steepest hills, I pushed when it got too steep. All hills are reasonable elevation.

jefnvk

Sounds like the Netherlands for us. Only broke my shorts out for half of the last day of the trip, when our only sunshine came out, and the raincoat was almost always on and over a long sleeve jersey.

And thanks! PM inbound!