Swimming with the bike, a tour on Iceland

It's nice to see that they have cleaned her up a bit.

In the capital.



With a modern church





We even went to eat some strange stuff like mink whale and even puffin breast. Was good.





Leaving Reykjavík in the rain we came across some more old turf houses.





Then we prepared for the highland again.
Because the doctor always says you should drink alot, and because the local liquor shop that we accicentaly stumbeled into had a special offer we ended up with some fluid that just fit in my tankbag.



Then we went for a ride on the moon.



Spectacular scenery .







And before we arrived in Landmanalaugar and the campsite there was a bit of water.





It was a cool windy evening with some drops every now and then. It took two to get the tent up and some shelter from the wind to get a meal ready. We were in bed early and had a cup of grape juice (or two)before falling a sleep.

The next morning was different and we woke up to this.

Thanks everyone for your kind replies. I'm glad you like the report so far.

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Hey BIG^DALY, thanks for clarifying the boot story. Interesting. Cheers Thomas

hi tomas glad you had a nice time in iceland .....great pictures i lived in the westfjords for 20 something years how did you like it there ...i shall be doing a
bit of riding this summer westfjords mostly on my 88 rdo3 africa twin there are just so many places to ride here on duelsport bikes...keep sending your pics i
hope to add some iceland pics this summer...iceland

We decided to go for a hike and put our walking boots on.

Here some impresions of the landscape there.



























When we came back to the tent it was around noon and there was still time to go on. So back through the water.

Nice photos. I'm sure Iceland is even more beautiful to be there, than the pix reveal. Thanks for posting.

BTW, nice name!
I myself am also
Thomas B.

Beautiful pictures Thomas. I hadn't seriously considered taking a trip to ride in Iceland before. Now I know that I will go ride there someday.

Thanks,
Jonathan

Hi icelandmg066, the westfjords were nice exept that you didn't get anywhere. Riding around a fjord you pass the place you have been an hour ago but is just a couple of meters across the water.
Cheers Thomas

Thanks for your replies the rest of you. Glad you like it.

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The route Sandra picked next was going to have 10-20 watercrossings (cann't remember the exact number) as the guide book said. It turned out that there were a lot but nothing really bad. Most I did 2up. Sandra only had to walk very little.

Hi icelandmg066, the westfjords were nice exept that you didn't get anywhere. Riding around a fjord you pass the place you have been an hour ago but is just a couple of meters across the water.
Cheers Thomas......

i have heard people say that about the fjords its a long way in and out but at least they have the roads surfaced now to the north of isafjordur.....and i think very beutifull scenery i noticed on your map of the route you took you didnt do ..snæfellsness.. its on the west side of the country....maybe next time but you did a lot of highlands and it looks like you both had a good time great pics you have....iceland

Yes iceland, we did have a good time. Would have liked to explore a little more and rather on two bikes.

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When we reached the ring road we decided to go around the south and have a look at some glaciers and ice lakes fed by them .

On the way to Svinafellsjökull.









Getting really close to a glacier.





At the glacier lake Breidarlon.







Some even fancied a bath. Not me. I'm not too fond of cold water.





Taking it all in. Just beautiful.



And one with bike.

Surely you didn't make your wife walk through the water twice to get pictures of you riding through it, did you?!!!

No, she never had to walk through the water twice. But she had to walk through once a couple of times and then had a camera with her. Cold water is good for the blood circulation of the legs, you know?

We then went on to the next lake with a similar looking. Its called Jökulsarlon.









Some good relaxing drink in the evening.



Small breakfast at the gas station.




Little fishing village on the way.



between Djupivogur and Hallormsstadur







Meeting other bikes on the way.










Then we were on our way to Askia, a volcano in the north east of Iceland.




A sign often seen in the highlands to warn you what is to come.

What a great ride,thanks for sharing..

That made me laugh out loud, very funny.

If you USA travels ever bring you near St. Louis, MO, please stop by and we'll get you some St. Louis style BBQ ribs. Might not compare to Icelandic food....

Thanks for the offer boatpuller, sounds very good but I don't think we'll get to that region in the near future. But, always glad to entertain you...

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First hours ride was dry, but then it was time for wet feet.





And another one.



Getting deeper into the highlands. No vegetation anymore.



They do build bridges every now and then. I was glad for this one.




Arriving at Askia we set up our tent and then took a walk to some lakes.



The one in the front is warm (there were people swimming in it) and the one behind it is cold. They are called Vito-and-Öskjuvatn.

Awesome pictures...thanks for sharing!!

the FHOTOS, are................WONDERFUL,.THANKS.

SALU2. OFF SPAIN.

Hello astur and hvilla, glad you like the pictures. Yes, it is an amazing place with great landscape. Cheers Thomas

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Leaving Askia Sandra looked at the options and decided on taking a route on which the offroad guide promised two deeper watercrossings. We didn't ask the rangers at the station at Askia what they looked like at the moment but just went to have a look. We had enough fuel to turn around if it was too deep at the moment. When we arrived at the first one I stopped and watched a woman walking through the water from a 4x4 standing at the other side. It was deeper than the crossings we had done before but looked managable. But not 2-up. Sandra walked across and waited on the other side. I tryed to follow her path but was somehow pushed further downstream a bit by the water. There the water became deeper and all of a sudden the engine died.




I got off the bike and looked under the tank. The air intake was well over the water. Then I made a mistake (that I only thought about later) and tryed to turn the engine with the kickstart. Since I have a low exhaust on the BMW that was filled with water as soon as the engine died, I filled the cylinders with water though the opening outlet valves. Of course the engine wouldn't start anymore. As I tried to move the bike backward - which wouldn't work- I found out why the engine had stalled so suddenly. The gravel I was on or rather in was big and loose so that the front wheel was standing in it well over the rim. That had soaked all of the power out of the engine and it went a sleep. I called Sandra to come and help me. Together we made it back onto the river bank. I pulled out the tools and took out both spark plugs. Then I let the starter blow the water out of the cylinders.



Then the plugs went in again and the starter blew the water out of the exhaust. After that was done the engine started working again.
So, let's try this again. And you won't believe it the engine died again. This time I was further in towards the middle and Sandra was in the water behind me and could help. So this time we made it through the river. Not quite the way I had imagined. So I got out and did the same procedure as before and the engine was running again.





I wasn't too concerned about water in all of the oils the bike has as I had put the breathers of all the bikeparts high under the tank already years ago. (I had been in the wet with the bike before.)

We carried on and it turned out that that was the most challenging crossing of the trip.
The next one was really easy altough I walked it first.