Next morning the weather is still remarkably good which makes cycling really enjoyable. The road goes gently down hill following the river downstream so I can make quite a pace for the next 10 km or so. It is nearly at the lowest point at the bridge over river Kollseyra that I see other cyclists coming ahead. First there is a middle-aged couple and about a kilometer later a single guy. He seems to be hesitating whether to stop and have a chat or not and even when I stop pedaling he keeps hesitating. Finally I pass him and look back at the same time he looks back and it looks as if he regrets not having stopped. Strange fellow, one either stops or go on, but what was this all about?
 | | Jökuldalsheiði | It is a pity that the road finally goes up again; not a steep climb but the same straight and gentle way I came down. Nevertheless it is an effort far greater than the first kilometers of today. After a few kilometers the road becomes flat again and approaches the Möðrudalsfjallgarður mountain range. Here the new road number 1 joins road 85 and immediately becomes an unsealed road again. The road is made of some kind of reddish loam, very hard and smooth and actually better than the tarmac. I expected some sort of mountain pass but the road goes through a narrow corridor in the mountains before plunging down to a rolling plain.
At this point there is a great view on the Herðubreið mountain in the south. A touring bus loaded with tourists has a photo stop here and in spite of me ringing the tourists won’t go aside. When I pass through the group that is on the middle of the road I here some protests about this action of mine but I don’t bother to stop and start some senseless discussion about it.
After several kilometers in the plain going up and down small steep hills the road descents some more and joins the old road number 1 coming from Möðrudalur. According to my map I have to cross the small mountain pass Vegaskarð but I have no idea what to expect. Well, I soon find out; the road goes up for 300 meters with 14% on average. In spite of the fact that I should stay on the right side of the road since it is impossible to see any vehicles coming from the other side I go swerving over the road to avoid any gravel or potholes that would cause me to stop. It is a terrible 300 meters to the top and at the other side it goes down just the same. So this is a pass Icelandic style. From here on the road is rather flat and after another 8 or 9 kilometers there is actually a house along the road; the first house since Skjöldólfsstaðir yesterday. The road now starts to climb again and becomes tarmac just before another nasty little climb but after the summit there is a long descent all the way to the cross road to Grímsstaðir.
There, at the road sign, there are two Italian hitchhikers who have been dropped by the bus in the morning, convinced that they would find cheap transport to Egilsstaðir. Unfortunately for them only very few cars pass and most of them are tourists who in general do not take any people with them. It is now 2 o’clock and I stay with them for an hour or so without anyone passing so I prepare them for having to pitch their tent, stay the night and take the bus again in the morning. That is not what they want to hear from me but nevertheless reality.  | View on Herðubreið mountain | I leave them at the road sign and head for Reykjahlíd, 40 km away. My guess was to cover this distance in two and a half hours but that proves to be a major mistake. Just after the bridge over the river Jökulsá á Fjöllum road works start and for the next 3 kilometers I can choose between sliding my way through a few centimeters of gravel or ride next to the road in the sometimes soft lava dust. When the road works finally end the reason for it becomes clear.The next 17 km the road is very bumpy with lots of potholes. At some points the wind has blown very fine and soft lava dust over the road where my bike blocks as if I’m riding into a thick layer of flour. There is a strong northeasterly blowing here so I have head winds. At two occasions I get caught by a dust storm and I need a shawl over my nose and mouth to be able to breath properly.
When I finally reach the tarmac I’m exhausted by unfortunately still 20 km from a descent shower. The road turns slightly more to the west here and at least I have some side and back winds now. A small but in my state awful climb and another straight sections through the plains brings me at the foot of the final pass to climb. Námaskarð, I can see it from a distance and it looks just as steep as it is. It is about a kilometer to the top, but with percentages of 10% it takes me 10 minutes to get to the summit. On the other side there is a staggering view over the Mývatn lake overcompensating the effort of the climb.
The descent is steep and fast and without any more pedaling I reach Reykjahlíd. I choose to stay at the Elda campsite; it is more beautiful located than the Lava campsite and furthermore, it is on walking distance from the supermarket.  | Mývatn seen from Námaskarð | |
