Day 11
Thursday 11th July – 103Km
Up at 8:00 but I don’t get away until
11:00. The wind has dropped and it’s stopped raining. There is blue sky over
Vatnajokull.
The route out of Hofn is supposedly the
steepest part of the ring road with a 16% gradient and a good hard packed
surface. I stop several times for a breather on the way up but don’t resort to
pushing. Several cars and coaches go past with people waving to me, I try to
wave back without falling off.
At the top is a small parking area with
superb views of the Eystrahorn and back along the coast to Hofn. Some of the
people, who waved to me on the way up clap as I dismount, sweat dripping from
every pore.
The reward for all that effort is a fast
freewheel down the other side, fortunately the road surface stays OK.
As I ride over the flat area called Lon
the sun is shining and there are lovely views ahead and behind. At approx 2:00 I
stop for lunch at the end of Lonsvik, looking back at the Vestrahorn which looks
like a jagged mountain throne or a wizards tower from Tolkien.
As I eat a bank of fog rolls in from the sea, giving me some good photos of the Vestrahorn poking out of a cloudy blanket. 20 minutes later I’m pedaling along with about 10M visibility and no lights.
Luckily there is very little traffic…
The road becomes a gentle switchback;
this coupled with the lack of a headwind makes the riding much easier. My legs
and backside aren’t aching as much as they have been over the last week. Flat
roads are not ideal for cycling; you sit in the same position and use the same
muscles all the time. A rolling road lets you move around in the saddle a bit.
There is one further section of
unmetalled road but it’s quite a good surface. I reach Djupivogur at approx
7:30. Richard and Martin are already there, as are a French couple that has been
turning up at the same campsites as us since Vik. They’re traveling by bus
each day.
The campsite is small and fairly basic but there are hot showers. There is also nobody to collect the money and as it’s now raining I’m not about to go and find them!