Kjolur Track

Kjolur Track
Now there is an 85k ride from Akureyri with very limited places to camp along the way, then from here I could take the ring road or take the dirt road called the Kjolur Track through the highlands. The ring road is very long and not much to see and the dirt road is much shorter, lots to see, but hard riding. I um and ah for some time, then decide I´ll do the dirt road the Kjolur Track witha bus!

Bus travel in Iceland is very good. I just buy ticket, turn up on time and they just load my bike in the trailer and i hop on to the warm bus and watch the kms race by! On this bus i met Denise again. We had met a few days b4 at on a bus in Myvatn so it was great fun chatting and catching up on our adventures.

The road is do able by bike. but i don´t know why you would want to frankly. It was muddy, rocky , hilly and a long way. We arrive at the Hveravelir camp site at around 11.30pm. Its a great day. Dark cloud but no rain (yet). I re-meet up with the German cyclist, Ove and Brigit. They have riden the track and they tell me that yesterday they had to walk 20kms because of the wind... they were almost unable to hold the bikes upright and puch them into the wind...

Denise and I set up our camps and then make our way to the hot tub... we then spent the rest of the day here. It was just great fun... At some stage we both did the walk of the steaming jets. It was so very cold here, but we both decide to stay a second night and do a walk the next day.

its raining the next day... It rains all day. We manage to walk around 12kms to a geat view of lava, snow and mountains. But we are so wet when we get back. wet jackets, wet boots, wet hats. We have to warm up and again spend s few hours in the hottub... But hunger, cold and tiredness gets too us and we have to crawl into our tents and try to sleep in full daylight and cold wind...

Its not much better the next day. Its worse in fact. The rain is now sideways and very cold. We have to pack up our camp and get ready to catch the bike... At one point i couldn´t feel my hands (Thanks Burkhart for the hand warms just wonderful)... The bus arrives on time.. we load bike and other stuff and head for the ski field called Kerlingarfjoll. This was a great highlight of the bus trip. Its a loverly spot with mountains around and flowing river, but very cold. But there is hot food and shelter. The bus stops for 30minutes so we can get food. I had my 1st bought meal here and it was just the best setting.

From here the bus rolls through the highlands, close to glacier fingers that flow into a lake, pass Icelandic horses and mountains.... to the lowlands

I get off the bus at Gullfoss, but more on that later..