Bike Forums - Hello to all

Bike Forums (https://www.bikeforums.net/forum.php)

- Touring (https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/)

- - Hello to all (https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/90062-hello-all.html)

Hello ,
Just joined and i already have a question for you !
A colleague and myself are cycling across Iceland in July 2005 to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Care, we are taking full camping equipment and aim to be relativley self sufficient for a journey lasting 8 days and covering aprox 550 miles.
I would like to hear from anyone who has done this or something similar, and also any advice would be most welcome.
Regards to you all
Pete

Welcome to the forum.
Unfortunately, I'm not the right person to answer your question but just to keep this thread near top of the list, so other experts can find easier. I have seen many members completed long touring plan in this forum, but I'm not sure theirs were full camping gear equipped. I still think you can get pieces and bits of differnet experiences from various people. There are many members wiling to help you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wilfskins

we are taking full camping equipment and aim to be relativley self sufficient for a journey lasting 8 days and covering aprox 550 miles.

Hi, and welcome to the forum!
I will say that 8 days/550 miles might be a bit ambitious for a newbie loaded tourer. I don't know what kind of shape you're in, so I could be putting my foot in, but I know that the SF-LA AIDS Ride, supported, has a similar time/distance rate, and it is very challenging to some people. I'd say you could possibly put in 50-ish miles in the first few days, but then you would need to ramp up to catch up, and could be putting in 100 miles/day the last two days. Extreme, especially considering terrain/mishaps/breakdowns. I would suggest you train, loading your bike before you go so it can be "optimized" before your trip, as well as for getting you in shape. If possible, I suggest you give yourself more time to cover the 550 miles, just in case.
Also, if you are an experienced tourer, I apologize in advance.

which route will you be taking and where is the starting point?

the ring road?

kjölur?

sprengisandur?

the westfjords?

weather in july is pretty good, not cold, hot at times. water is no problem, no need to lug it around if you stay out of the interior highlands.

This might help from the Iceland section of the "Cylcists Yellow Pages," produced by the Adventure Cycling Association. It's a good group to know about or join if you are a cycle tourist:

http://www.adventurecycling.org/cyp/searchlist.cfm