Iceland 2021, was it worth it?

Kirkjubaejarklaustur to Laugarfell became my favourite day's riding and not just because it got me out of somewhere completely unpronoucable to somewhere that sounded like alcohol.
The riding and the scenery were absolutely stunning, right out of Lord of the Rings, so much so I expected Sauron and a bunch or Orcs to appear over the hills but the might of Harold on his GS and Gazza on the GSA must have put the shits up Sauron and he bottled it. Gary had proved to be game for anything without sand on his GSA. Harold being 73 and short of leg length had erred on the side of caution a few times but he was mad for it despite the threat of numerous water crossings. What a hero at 73, hats off to you H.

Being an GS owner myself I have the upmost respect for all of the guys on the big behemoths going off road. I'll stick to my beloved single cylinder bikes for off road even though the trails weren't hard.

Anyway, back to my Lord of the Rings fanatasy, the trails just seemed endless, the weather was good by Icelandic standards and the views utterly breathtaking. We got to the beautiful campsite at Laugarfell and bought their enitre stock of lager (which sounds impressive, but in reality wasn't that much) The campsite is in a lovely valley, it's almost like wild camping in the middle of nowhere but with a mini shop and some showers.

We spent a really chilled evening swapping stories as you do. One of the things that transpired was that although Tim and myself had never met, we knew quite a few of the same people (Rick Attwater, Timpo)and had even been to the same small events at the same time (Mad March Moon). In addition, our travel routes shared distinct similarities, (Morocco, USA, Mongolia etc). A perfect end to a brilliant day.

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Nice little off road camper van.
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Serious lunatic and some bloke pedalling around Iceland on his own, and I thought we'd packed light.
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Gazza
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Harold
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Mordor in the distance.
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Gary hunting for Orc's
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Christy in the pub. More pics to follow.

I have 2 guns, one for each of you!
 
While you were sorting your bike, Garry and I were dicking about on the pieces of ice.

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We did indeed. Those iceberg's on the beach were facinating.
 

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Morning all, it's a strange and kind of sad day as today is the last day's riding for John, Christy and myself. Due to the various changes of flights we had to leave either a couple fo days earlier than planned or couple of days later. Due to work, a few days later didn't work for Christy and myself and the 3 of us wanted to have one day of being tourists having a look round Reykjavik and visit the newly erupted volcano, hence it being our last day riding.

BTW, if you're ever thinking of booking flights via MyTrip, don't bother, their customer service is on par with Hitler's

Now in answer to the original question Icelenad 2021, was it worth it?
I'm sure you know the response by now if you've read this far. The answer is most definitely YES and that's not just from me but also John and Christy.
Irrespective of the pandemic limiting options somewhat and my love of sunshine and warmth I thought Iceland was a brilliant place to ride and I've travelled extensively on bikes, all over the world for up to 3 months at a time.

Christy and John are experienced road and off road riders but had never done the camping off the back of a dirt bike lark before. They both went out and bought camping gear just for this trip. This could have been a disaster for them but they both loved it.

I think it's important to add that the whole trip is added to greatly by Tim's attitude, knowledge and experience. 10 out of 10 Mr Godsmark. So if like me, you've read other reports and fancy Iceland, don't think any further, just do it.

Now back to the plot, breakfast at the campsite. If you're vegetarian or vegan please skip the next paragraph. For the carnivores amognst us I knocked up fried SPAM sandwiches for breakfast. SPAM, the meat of Mossley, or Mossley sirloin was we fondly refer to it has provided that bacon substitute breakfast for me and the lads in the Sahara desert and other such places over the years. When you're travelling it makes you feel like it's Christmas diner wrapped up with your wedding meal. Strange us Northern folk.

Suitably stuffed with high calorie heart attack grub it was time for what seemed like the final count down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jK-NcRmVcw

OK, Europe are Swedish but I couldn't think of a Bjork or Kaleo song that would work so please just indulge me.

This Kaleo track is well worth listening to but it didn't work for the morning blast.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-7IHOXkiV8


Tim, told us it was a single track with no turn offs until we reached the tarmac about 20 or so miles down where we'd all regroup. Tarmac, sacrilege!
So the group splits up a bit and I notice that Tim is getting a bit of a move on so I latch on behind him. Then he's riding like a young kid who ate all the blue smarties or a man who's suffering from Spam poisoning and needs the bog quickly.

It was one of those real classic rides, Tim on his 640, me on my 500, not a race but for me certainly a bit brisk and I loved every single, second, every berm, every drift, every roll on of the throttle, following somebody who knew the route intimately. The kind of ride you don't want to end but sadly the tarmac hadn't moved any further westwards. We stopped, Tim looked at me, nodded and smiled. I think he enjoyed it but was probably just showing me who was boss. I loved it and it seemed such a fitting way to finsih the group trip which had been such a blast.

As this was also the point where the group split into 2 and went our seperate ways, Christy selflessly got a puncture so we had a chance to hang around and say our goodbyes.

Puncture sorted and the 3 of us headed back to do the obilgatory tests before flying, pub crawl around the delights of the big city followed by the last day going out to see the volacano. Mind you I think it was walking over the rough ground to the volcano that finished off my knees, one of which has just been replaced at last.

All told though, a brilliant trip and one I'd thoughly recommend, thanks to Tim and all the rest of the group who made it so enjoyable.

Breakfast, not in America
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No sympathy for the devil
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Childish but we had to try it
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Very civilised night out unlike most British cities.
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Two big lumps
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A steaming great pile
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Icelandic space programme
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A kneedless picture
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Superb ride report big fella :beerjug:

It was a sad goodbye to yourself, John and Christy but I still smile about that final fast ride together.....I think we both said in unison "you mad old bastard" :D

Garry and Harold on their GSs and myself still had nearly another week before our flights so we took full advantage in different ways.

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Garry auditions for a Titanic remake

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I agree to meet them and hour or two down the road as there's some places I want have a look at which weren't suitable for big bikes.

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A little further on I realised why there was a chain across the track and a road closed sign! it became very steep and broken, I descended like a granny for a short distance engine off and clutch as my back brake.....I really didn't want to be dropping there.

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I needed to take a picture of an elves house for my Granddaughter !

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I felt a little guilty when meeting up with Garry and Harold again, I assumed they'd check out some places along the way but they'd been waiting for me a couple of hours. Oops.:blast

We took off together on an old and interesting trail I'd been shown a few years ago...only now there was no bridge so another challenge for the two GSs in a wide but shallow and rocky river.

I've lost track a bit at this point and am sure Garry and fill in their gaps as they want to head north and west using their remaining days to the full and had a great time together.

It's a long way for me to ride at this stage on my 640, I'm nearly 5 weeks in and need to slow down a bit :D
 
So for my last few days I found quiet campsites and just had a look around meeting up with John and Harold in a few days.

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Just 2 or 3 nights left now...
 
Tim, many thanks for the excellent photos and filling in the gaps about what we missed after we left. Glad you liked the report as we all see things from a different perspective and it’s great to see other pictures.

Anyone reading this report and thinking about 2022 or even further on, don’t hesitate, just do it. Not just my opinion, Gazza, Jon and Liam have all been more than once. About 8 times in Jon’s case I think he said.
 
Tim, many thanks for the excellent photos and filling in the gaps about what we missed after we left. Glad you liked the report as we all see things from a different perspective and it’s great to see other pictures.

Anyone reading this report and thinking about 2022 or even further on, don’t hesitate, just do it. Not just my opinion, Gazza, Jon and Liam have all been more than once. About 8 times in Jon’s case I think he said.

I think five trips from me.
 
Just the four for me - enjoyed every minute of them - was it worth it? Damned right it was - was a privilege to just get away, let alone have fun.
 


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