Sunday: Let battle commence

An early start today having breakfast at the hostel with dozens of school kids who had also been staying there. Got the jeep loaded up and then we got on the bus for a 2 hour journey through stunning Icelandic countryside which would take us to the start of the trail and the start of 7 days riding. Whilst we were driving along you would occasionally see huge clouds of steam coming out of the ground and also vehicles parked at the side of the road where they had been in fatal accidents with details of the number of fatalities in the accident. We stopped for a break along the way to get out and stretch our legs. I had an ice cream, which resulted in much mocking as although it was very sunny, it was also windy and pretty cold...I was using the ice cream to heat myself up, it really was that cold!

Iceland had amazing scenery, vast expanses of land and long bus journeys.

A few minutes before we got to the start of the trail we took a detour to look at a waterfall which was very fat indeed.

You shouldn't be able to see the moon at 1pm. I know you can in this country sometimes but it's nature gone wrong.

Stopped for a break by a waterfall, a very big waterfall. I counted at least 100 million gallons of water flowing over it.

Arrived at the trail head. Spent the next half an hour getting the bikes prepared and having lunch. We were having lunch outside an old mountain hut, very much like the mountain huts we would be stopping in each night. It was in a pretty shocking state of repair, no doubt caused by the local weather. I couldn't help but wonder exactly how many spiders that could potentially kill me with one bite or not be killed with anything less than a hammer might be currently scurrying around in there. We all knew that we would be sleeping in some really basic accomodation but I had to admit, this was a shock. I think others were thinking the same and trying not to show it. There was the odd window blown out, the door looked pretty badly damaged and the outdoor toilet had a large window above the door blown out. I was a while getting my bike ready though and everyone was already having lunch when I'd finished so the blown out toilet door could have easily been Mark or Aaron. I was starving. Lunch consisted of fruit, salted meat, pate, bread, cheese...the sort of food which would last a long time when not refridgerated, ideal for our trip and we all got stuck in.

Mark was impatient to see who had brought there 'A' game and would challenge him to the title of Icelandic Mountain Biking Hardman 2007.

It's amazing how two days of beer drinking and having a good time followed by a gentle climb into a stiff wind can make you wonder if you'd ever ridden a bike before in your life. We only got about half a mile up the road before something needed tweaking on someone's bike. It was nothing major and we were on our way in no time. James and I were pretty keen to get some miles under our belts and set off at the head of the group. We pretty much immediately had to turn around and ride back down the road we had ridden up for a mile or so as we had missed a turn after about two minutes...nice work.

James and I were pretty keen to throw down some early gauntlets. Here we are returning from our earliest gauntlet amid cries of "You're going the wrong way!".

The group had took a left hand turn to view the Haij Foss waterfall. The terrain so far had been jeep double track which was covered in black grit, a little larger in size than sand. It was smooth riding though, a little tame, but the scenery more than made up for it. The waterfall was incredible. We were about half a mile from it and the drop must have been six or seven hundred metres, very impressive and we spent a good ten minutes taking photographs and enjoying the view. Aaron even scrambled down the slope to where it was incredibly steep to get a great photo, although we had our hearts in our mouths watching him do it, he's certainly got more bottle for heights than me. He was stood maybe five feet from a several hundred foot drop on a very very steep grass banking.

Haij Foss, another very large waterfall. This one was taller than the Empire State Building...probably.

Mark was dismayed to realise that he was going to have to settle for Icelandic Pie Eating Kite Flyer 2007.

Following our stop we continued on our way towards Strong, an ancient settlement where we would stop for a brew. As you can see from the photographs the scenery was incredible and seemed to roll on for ever. The terrain under the wheels had now changed from the gritty doubletrack to mossy plains which was like riding on a six inch deep sponge carpet, making going slow and energy sapping on the legs. Crossing one of the plains we encountered a very boggy area and everyone picked their own route to try and best avoid the worst of it. Unfortunately Alan got the short straw and not only managed to find a small lake but also managed to lose his balance and fall into it, completely soaking himself in the process, but he also picked up a puncture, so then he had to stand in it for ten minutes fixing it. Still, at least he had plenty of water for finding the actual hole in his tube.

Aaron riding what I swear was the only piece of singletrack in Iceland. In case you were wondering fact fans it continues for another 10 metres behind him going off the photograph. Like totally rad...is it a red or double black diamond?

Mark and Alan crossing one of the great plains. Alan had just recovered from a serious dunking in a 12 inch deep puddle...actually it was more of a small lake.

Alan Attack (Partridge reference)

Once we had crossed the plains we were treated to stunning views of the lower plains and rivers surrounding Strong, which we would descend to in a fifteen minute blast down the hillside. There were no discernable paths so it was simply a case of make your own route and hope that you ended up on the right side of the gully at the bottom, as picking the wrong side added another ten minutes to the settlement and more importantly, the brew and snacks! Everyone took their own route, some more successful than others. The descent was down a rolling hillside, made all the more by the surface of deep volcanic ash ( the same granularity as sand), not knowing exactly where Strong was as it was hidden by the natural terrain of the hillside, no paths to follow and also knowing that somewhere there was this deep gully to avoid. You definitely didn't want to fall into it, it was pretty deep and not something you'd be able to ride, or in fact ride out of.

Aaron taking in the excellent views above the settlement of Strong.

Mark starting the descent to Strong. It was on volcanic ash and was therefore trickier than it looked.

Aaron and Leslie descending down to the ancient settlement of Strong where we would stop for snacks, coffee and chest beating.

On arrival at Strong we hung out by a river, comparing our routes down the hillside and wading into the piping hot coffee and snacks. The settlement actually looked like a village hall and was in surprisingly good condition. Inside it was little more than an empty room with an earthen floor and ledges on each wall topped with grass sods for sitting upon. Occasional plaques described various sections of the room, what they were used for and what had been found here during the excavations.

On leaving Strong, we crossed a narrow wooden footbridge and stopped to take the obligatory group holiday photos. Continuing, it started to drizzle (it had been bright and sunny all day, if a little breezy) and we headed up a river bed for about half a mile. The river bed was only around four inches deep but the rocks were slippy and about fist sized making it difficult to maintain constant traction. The day was really starting to close in at this point and the visibility was down to a couple of hundred metres. It was a welcome sight when we saw a major road appear where we could put in some faster miles as we were a good twenty miles from our final destination for the day and the weather was not looking good with the day growing darker thanks to the thickening fog. Following the road for several miles, we then saw a huge man made dam loom out of the gloomy mist, a quite remarkable sight, looking like something out of a film about blowing up a German secret bunker during World War 2. It looked quite forboding with all of the eary mist and with us not having seen a soul all day.

Crossing the dam we then continued along a major road adjacent to Mount Hekla, which was little more than a thirty foot wide sandy track. Due to the numbers of articulated vehicles, off road tourist buses, etc which travel these roads, the surface had become rippled which made it feel like you were riding along corrugated iron at times so you felt like you were being shaken apart and it was also hard to maintain a decent momentum. Ten miles on these roads, in the mist and drizzle with a stiff wind blowing into your face certainly took the wind out of your sails and the remainder of the journey, around an hour ride in good conditions, ended up being almost a two hour brutal slog. Iceland was certainly proving to be a holiday where the riding was more about the climactic conditions than the technicality of the trails.

Our accommodation for the evening was in small huts which looked like World War Two Anderson shelters. Very old fashioned but excellent for sleeping in and drying out your kit. Dinner for the evening was cooked by the guides and, being early in the holiday, was fresh fish, Arctic Char no less and very nice too. We were very tired so sat around talking and having a few beers for a couple of hours before heading off for a good nights kip.

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