Day 12
Friday 12th July – 85Km
I wake up to the sound of heavy rain so
I lie in my bag hoping it will stop. It doesn’t, so I have breakfast and pack
undercover before getting into full waterproofs. Jacket, trousers, hat,
overshoes and gloves. Normally once I’ve put all of this on the weather
instantly improves, this time however the trick fails.
There is still nobody at the site to
collect the money so I get ready to leave. Richard and Martin are having a lie
in so I’ll see them in one of the towns between here and Egilsstadir, all of
which are supposed to have campsites.
The rain continues as I leave Djupivogur
and cycle up Berufjordur. I can’t see much due to the low cloud so concentrate
on the smaller picture. Ducks and ducklings in the fjord and plants at the side
of the road.
At the head of the fjord is a road
junction with a sign showing two different ways to Egilsstadir. One route is
66Km and the other is 128Km. I
check the map and see that the longer route hugs the coast whilst the shorter
route goes over the Oxi pass and then follows a road inland. The road over Oxi
is marked 4-wheel drive only but I see several ordinary cars coming down it so
it can’t be too difficult.
The track is very steep in parts, a sign
says 17% but it goes up in zig zags and has a good hard packed surface. I’m
passed by several cars going in both directions, again the occupant’s wave at
me. The route is obviously a well-used short cut.
Midway up is a pretty waterfall so I
stop for a rest and take some pictures of this and the valley below me. At the
head of the pass it’s cold, dark and foggy. The vegetation is low and stunted,
sub-arctic tundra.
I put my helmet on, check the brakes and head down. This side of the pass is more or less straight and not as steep as the other side. It’s a long, fast, bumpy descent. Great fun!
The surface is wet and slippery so I’m
careful not to brake too hard. This is not a place to have an accident.
Eventually the track joins up with the
main road, which is very badly rutted and potholed. The surface is actually far
worse than the track and I have to slalom between water filled holes in the
tarmac.
At 5:00 I stop to have some lunch and am
munching a Snickers when Richard and Martin turn up. They couldn’t resist the
short cut either and have been following my tyre-tracks.
We carry on down the valley together and
eventually reach Egilsstadir.
My bike has full length mudguards (fenders) but the two Swedes only have bolt-on crud-catchers. I’m quite muddy but they are brown from head to toe and their bikes have gained a few kilos in weight.
We pull into a service station and use
the free hoses and brushes provided to clean ourselves up. All Icelandic service
stations have these and they’re quite handy.
The campsite is large and next to a big
supermarket, however it’s very poorly drained and there are pools of standing
water everywhere.
I find a patch that is slightly less
squelchy than the surrounding area and put the tent up. It’s still wet from
last night.
Shop, eat, shower, oil chain, bed. Ominously my right leg is hurting a bit although I can’t recall doing anything to it.