Day 23
Tuesday 23rd July – 140 Km
I’m up at 8:00 to a cloudy but dry morning. A quick
breakfast and then I check the weather forecast in the wardens office and chat
to a German cyclist for a bit.
On the road by 9:30, I follow Route 1 out of town and then
turn inland again for the long climb up Oxnadalur, a wide flat-bottomed valley
with a meandering river. It looks like a good place for fishing and there are
lots of people trying their luck.
Low cloud hides the mountains to either side of me but
there is a huge one poking its head through at the head of the valley. The map
shows it as Grjotarhnjukur at 1237M. I’m glad I don’t need to climb that
high, the road pass at 540M is enough for today.
It’s a fairly easy climb, at the top I put my
waterproofs, gloves and goggles on but the downhill is sedate, unlike
yesterdays.
At the bottom I see another cyclist coming down, it’s
Marc, a Swiss cyclist who was also at the Akureyri site last night. We ride
along talking about the usual stuff, routes, weather and plans until the wind
becomes stronger and we just put our heads down, alternating the lead until Marc
pulls away.
At Varmahalid I stop at the service station cum supermarket
cum café and stuffy myself with coffee and cake and then Skyr and Chocomilk!
Carbo-loading for the ride ahead.
Marc is there as well as some German cyclists whose bikes
are loaded down with walking gear including Ice axes. I’m glad I’m not
carrying that lot! Marc is camping here but the Germans are doing Kjolur and
leave while I’m still stuffing my face.
It’s now 5:30 as I leave Varmahalid and begin the long
climb out of the valley. I hope I’m doing the right thing; Kjolur normally
takes 2-3 days but can take longer in bad weather. If the timings look bad I may
need to get a bus back to Keflavik.
It’s now spitting with rain and there’s a cold,
blustery wind. It’s also as dark as it’s ever been this trip.
After some more up and a longish down I turn off the main
road and begin the climb up Blondudalur. The road is unsurfaced at first and
then changes to new tarmac near the power station then goes back to hardpack.
I pass the first lake and see some tents there, presumably
the Germans who were ahead of me. The ground looks a bit marshy so I press on
and at 10:30 find a good pitch away from the road.
Tent up, tuna and pasta and finish writing my diary at 12:10.