Bikepacking the Iceland Divide – Published on BIKEPACKING.com, October 2022

Heavy rain lashes against my hotel widow, distorting the impressive view of huge swells pummelling into Keflavik’s shoreline, the wind picking up each breaker and firing it far into the city streets. This is not a day to be outdoors in Iceland. Just hauling my bags and disintegrating bike box to the hotel was a mission, yet the thought of camping in this raises my anxiety levels. What makes me even more nervous is the weather warnings that are in place for the highlands right now. Winds of 250 kilometres per hour are currently ripping across the northern edge of Vatnajökull, Europe’s second largest icecap, right where I intend to be in a few days time—alone and unsupported on a bikepacking traverse of this wild, remote, and desolate sub-arctic island nation.

Fortunately, as island weather tends to do, it moves on quickly, and the following morning is calm with the sun even making an effort to break through. My Surly ECR, a steel 29er with 3″ tyres, is built and loaded up with everything I will hopefully need for 12 days in the wilderness, including 36 dehydrated meals, the only food which I’m carrying with me. The weather window looks good, with no major storms predicted for the next five days, at least, and light winds for the time being. It’s time to roll and make good ground while I can. Iceland has already given me a taste of its brutality; there’s no way I want to be stuck in a storm like yesterday’s in the volcanic wastelands that await. While my gear is pretty good, winds like that would easily blow my tent apart and leave me completely exposed to the elements…

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