Statistics for the trip across Kjölur and Sprengisandur

The table below summarizes the statistics for each day of our biking trip across Kjölur and Sprengisandur. We rested one day on the 11th of July whilst the road authorities cleared the mountain road across Sprengisandur.

Statistics for the trip across Kjöl and Sprengisand
Day	km	moving time h:m		tot. ascent
8.7.2011	43,59	4	40	581
9.7.2011	46,78	6	43	753
10.7.2011	38,9	3	47	237
12.7.2011	43,11	5	56	721
13.7.2011	21	4	14	791
14.7.2011	48,41	5	36	399
15.7.2011	56	5	53	794
total	297,79	32	289	4276
		time:	37 h
	Average speed:		8,05 km/h

Nineth day Saturday July 16th

We had intended to bike down to Hrauneyjar today some 50 km down the road. The wind was still blowing hard and the conditions to fix the bikes not good. In addition I got a phone call offering me a week’s job of guiding but I needed to fly to Akureyri at 7:00 AM Sunday morning. We decided to call the pickup team and drive ASP to Reykjavík. We were at the end of the actual mountain road anyway and had succeeded in the task we aimed for. By the time the car came to pick us up we had finished repairing the bikes and were in fact ready to continuo but time was of importance so we took the car to Reykjavik. We were very pleased with our accomplishments. I am sitting now on Sunday at noon in a Coffee shop in Husavik NE-Iceland writing up these final blogs. In the next days I will probably have time to post the final statistics and post some picture. My group is however about to finish their Whale watching and I need to go work.

Seventh day – Thursday July 14th

After putting up camp yesterday and eating we went to sleep. During the night the wind came down. It was a difficult night. The thin mattresses offer little protection against the rocky terrain underneath. Some comfort was taken in the fact that the winds had calmed. I was however terrified to wake up at 7:00 in the morning to the roaring wind. But great was my joy when a looked out and realised that the wind direction hat changes and it was blowing in our backs! We broke camp, eat breakfast and were ready to go at 9. We would surly use this wind whilst it lasted. And what a fantastic and effortless ride it was that day. We were swept by the wind along straight and good roads and eventually downwards towards Nýjidalur.  Occasionally sand would slow us down but for most parts the ride was a fantastic one. Like all the other days on this trip the weather was clear and the view of the mountains was fantastic. Most of the rivers we could ride but when we came to the first big one near Nýjidalur we realised that we had lost one pair of wading shoos! I had to cross in my biking shoos. The water is to cold to wade barefooted in large glacial rivers. Two km further down the road waited the biggest glacial river of the trip. We did not want the water to go over the axels of the tires so we had to carry the bikes with gear and all over the river. On the other side awaited us a warm hut with a shower and friendly greetings from the hut warden Sóla. We cooked the best meal of the trip to celebrate that we had crossed the most difficult part of this desert. The statistics of the trip: We biked 49 km in 5h and 36m. We stopped for 1h and 11m. Average speed moving was 8,6 km/h. Total ascent was 399 m.

Sixed day – Wednesday July 13th

Woke up to the hurling wind at 7:00. I decided that we would stay put for the next hours in the hope that the wind would come down. At 9:00 I made us breakfast after which we started taking down the tents and packing. The wind was much stronger than before (probably 15-20 m/s) and we decided to bike to a hut that was supposed to be some 8 km away and seek shelter there. We never found that hut and just continued onward against the sandy slopes and the wind. After 21 km we were exhausted and had to make camp in the middle of this vast sandy desert. But not before we had crossed one cold river on foot.  There are three types of rivers in Iceland: glacial with temperature of 0°C, pluvial with temperature close to the air temp (6-9°C) and spring rivers with temperature in the highland of Iceland between 2-3°C. All the rivers we crossed were of the first and third kind. Our tents were literally sitting in the middle of nowhere with no shelter and no vegetation to be seen as far as the eyes could see. The dinner that night was pasta with tuna and sand. Very grinding on the teeth. Trips statistics: we biked 21 km in 4h and 14m. We rested for 2h. Our max speed was 19,3 km/h but our moving average is 5,1 km/h. Total ascent was 643 m. We have now 47 km to go to Nýjidalur if this weather continues it will take two more days to get there!

Fifth day – Tuesday July 12th

After a hefty breakfast at Hotel Kiðagil we had out at 10:45. The first 20 km to Aldeyjarfoss were on a good gravel road but we were going uphill with a slight breeze in our face. It was a lovely and clear day. We had our breakfast at Aldeyjarfoss and enjoyed this one of the more spectacular waterfalls here in Iceland. Onward we went on to the actual mountain road which had not been open to traffic at that time. It was recently graded and we were the kings of the road. Not cars, no dust. Just us two. The only problem was that in some places the road was very sandy a problem which would continue to cause problem throughout the rest of the trip.  This problem was especially difficult since we were ascending some 800 m this day. Loosing tire grip in the slope is not good. As the day progressed the wind picked up. It was in our face at 10-15 m/s. At the end this had become a difficult struggle against the sandy slopes and the wind. We had intended to bike 50 km this day but gave up after 45 km and put up our tents in the only green patch in a 20 km radius (near an area called Fremstu mosar). It was difficult to put up the tents in this wind but with teamwork we were able to succeed in that task. The statistics for the day: We biked 45 km. We were moving for 5h and 56m and resting for 2h and 42m. Max speed was 29 km/h, the moving average was 7,1 km/h. The total ascent was 730 m.

We did it!

Today me and my son Gudjon finished our 8 day biking trip north Kjölur and south Sprengisand. I have not been able to update the blog like I wanted to do but I will do so in the coming days with some nice photographs and the final statistics for the trip.

Day 4. Monday 11th of July: Kiðagil a day of rest

I called the road authorities this morning they have not finished clearing the snow of the northern part of the Sprengisandur route (which they had intended to do this weekend). They sent the snow plows up today (they went past our hotel this morning on the way up to the highlands). We therefore decided to wait one day here so we would not need to cross long snow banks on our bikes.  We will continue our biking tomorrow.  I will upload some pictures today from our travel across Kjölur. I had decided to bike to Nýjadal in two days but will do it in three since we need to bike from the hotel some 25 km to the starting point and we are making a climb of 800 meters the first day. If the road is rough then that will take some time. One always has to allow for time to tent and cook before the nights rest.  Since the phone concection is not as good as I had hoped up in the mountains I am not sure when I will be able to post my next blog. But eventually they will all make it.

Day 3. Saunday 10th of July: Hveravellir – Áfangi

We woke up early at Hveravellir after a difficult night at the loft of a poorly ventilated hut with other tourist (which I apparently kept awake the entire night with my snoring. I am told by others that I snore but I have never heard myself doing that). I needed to do some repairs to my bike before we left which we did at 10:30. The road was much better and the weather was fantastic. Seldom have I traveled Kjol in clear weather like we had today. We decided to have our rendezvous with our transport team at Afangar (which is some 20 km short of finishing the official F35 route which would have been on a smooth road downhill) but this was of necessity since we needed to be at Kidagil in Bardardal NE – Iceland  before 23:00.   I and Gudjon did however have time to go to the hot tub while we waited for the transport (they went past the meeting point and had to backtrack). We could have biked those 20 km while we waited for them.   The statistics for the day.  We were moving for 3h and 47m rested for 1h 37m and maintained an averages speed of 10 km/h for theseclose to 40 km that we biked.

Saturday 9th – a day of difficulties

We started our morning with minor repairs and were on our bikes at 11. The wind was blowing strongly in our face and the road was very bat. We had many difficult hills to climb and the road surface was very rough.  Many of the hills were simply not bikable so we had to walk up with our bikes. We made slow progress and the dust was bad when trucks and cars past us. Through the course of the day we however crossed the water divide of Iceland. At one point in time the rivers were flowing to the south and then they were flowing to the north. We also crossed the half way point of this road. To add on to all this were mechanical problems. Gudjons seat came loose and the bracket on the back of my bike (where I hook on the bags) came loose and I lost the screw. I have many loose ones in my had so I was able to replace it but all this took time. I am however very pleased with how will the bikes are standing up to this wear and tear. The statistics for the trip is as follows: We were moving for 6 h and 43 m and stopped for 2h and 15m. Max sped was 27 km/h but the moving average was 6,9 km/h but the overall average was 5,2 km/h. Our max elevation was 704 m.a.s.l. and our total ascent was 753 m which shows how hilly the terrain was that we travelled through. These are the worst roads that I have ever biked.

Friday July 8th - The first day a good success

Friday July 8^th  - The first day a good success

We had a later start on the day than planned and departed on our bikes from Gullfoss at 12:20 instead of 9:00 AM as originally intended. The weather was very good clods at the beginning but it cleared up as the day progressed. The wind was against us but it was not strong so it did not play a role. The first 15 km were paved but we were in for a shock when we entered the gravel road or should I say the sand road. For some reason the Road Authorities had used sand to fill the potholes a very futile process since the wind blows it away in a matter of days. There was no way we could cycle in this material. I saw a look of despair in my sons face. Is this what awaits us? Fortunately the part was only 3-4 km after that the road became harder but pretty rough. Then the obstacle of the day – Bláfellsháls. We had to climb 313 meters over this mountain pass but the road was excellent and the weather good. The road was good all the way to Hvítá river but the last 15 km were on rough roads. The statistics for the day are: we biked 43,95 km in 4 hours and 40 minutes which gives the average speed of 9,3 km/h. We rested for 1 hour and 25 minutes and our maximum speed was 33,8 km/h. Greatest elevation was 620 m.a.s.l and our total ascent was 581 m.